Broken Past (Kakashi Fanfiction)
by ILKH
Summary: Karasu doesn't believe having a tough life is an excuse to get sympathy despite having one. She doesn't tell her feelings. She doesn't tell her insecurities. She doesn't open up. And she never truly smiles. Will one person change that for her? KakashiXOC I do not own any of the characters from Naruto and only own my OC's. (Better in later chapters)
1. Chapter 1

Karasu POV:

I screamed at the top of my lungs as I shot upright. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead, running down my face and onto my neck. I grasped onto my blanket as if it was the only thing stopping me from going back to the hell I just experienced. I looked around, I was still in my bedroom. Moonlight filtered through my window casting a hazy blue light on my floor, dimly illuminating my room. I breathed shakily as I remembered the dream, I closed my eyes trying to calm down but the flashes kept coming back. The blood pouring out of their bodies, people screaming and my comrade dead on the ground. Silent tears fell down my cheeks as I sniffled. It had happened two weeks ago but I still hadn't felt better than the day he died. The nightmares hadn't stopped coming, ever since the day of his death every night I woke up screaming. It was the same for Gisei and Unmei when they died, me waking up in ditress every night. I wiped away my tears and stifled my sniffles. Crying wasn't going to change what had happened.

 ***5 hours later***

The sun was rising causing shades of orange and blue to fill the sky giving off a brilliant orange glow. The river that I was beside sparkled like millions of jewels flowing smoothly past. It was still cold and mist hung suspended in the air. I breathed in the cold crisp air as I sat on the damp grass. I stared at the ground and held my hands up in front of my chest. Moving swiftly I created hand signs. Jutsu after justsu I practiced them slowly draining my charkra. With a day off it meant I could sit out here alone and lose myself in training. I exhaled loudly and fell back. I unfolded my legs and stretched them out. The sun was high now, the cold air was forgotten as sunlight warmed my face. I closed my eyes and listened to the stream mumbling quietly, the chirping of birds and the wind whistling through the trees. I was exhausted from the little sleeping had been receiving, but I didn't want to fall asleep not here. But my body couldn't resist the opportunity of a rest. I slowly drifted off, my eyes too tired to open as I let a wave of sleep crash over me.

I was paralyzed, I couldn't move a muscle even my breaths were short. I watched as blood pooled at my feet, I felt pain but yet it wasn't mine. I looked warily at the figure in front of me, their once spiky hair now drenched in crimson blood and fallen in front of his eyes. His clothes soaked in blood, he looked the exact same way as I saw him last. He advanced towards me, behind his hair I could see fury flickering in them. With every step his wounds gushed blood adding to the pool of blood below.

"Why did you let me die!?" He screamed pushing me to the ground, my limbs were still stiff. I tried to say something but all I could manage to do was make a strangled groan. Fear radiated across my chest, my heartbeat loud in my ears.

"WHY?" he said pushing me into the blood, I still couldn't move as he held me down by the shoulders. I was soaked in blood, my clothes clung to my body and my hair was heavy with blood. Tears fell down my cheek as he screamed at me, pushing me further into the crimson liquid. The blood was rising, almost up to my mouth. I tried to move knowing I was going to drown but I couldn't. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he furiously screamed at me. Blood flooded over me, I tried to move a muscle, anything to get out. His grip disappeared allowing my body to be taken over by the liquid dragging me down. Finally being able to move as my paralysis faded, I let out an inaudible scream for help as I thrashed about my arms and legs flailing .

I opened my eyes, I was laying on my back looking at the sky which was now pitch black. Clouds rolled over above as raindrops fell from the sky, I was soaked. The heat of the sun was forgotten as the cold air whipped against my skin. I sat up, hot tears rolling down my flushed cheeks. As I remembered the dream, guilt racked my body. A ball formed in my throat making it impossible to swallow and threatening to make throw up. How was I so stupid that day? I breathed shakily and shook my head, I needed to get home. I wiped my tears away hoping that my eyes weren't too noticeable and stood up. The wind picked up, making the rain become harsher against my skin . Thunder rolled overhead and flashes illuminated the sky as I ran to the village. I arrived, my clothes were pressed against my body, my hair was wet and messy. I just pulled over my hood and hoped nobody I knew saw me in this state. I walked through the streets, despite the weather so many people were still outside. I walked as quickly as could keeping my gaze at the ground avoiding making eye contact with anybody. Suddenly I felt a weight on my shoulder, I spun around and looked at who it was. I cursed silently in my head as I looked up making eye contact with them.

"Karasu are you okay?" They asked with genuine concern, bending down slightly to become eye level with me. I looked down hoping they didn't take notice of my eyes.

"I'm fine" I whispered, barely audible. They shook their head and stood up straight with a serious face.

"I know a lie when I hear one, come on you're staying at ours tonight" They said grabbing my arm and pulling me along. I scowled under my hood, I didn't deserve any sympathy, I closed my eyes and grimaced. If only I hadn't been crying, I hated letting those hot tears stream down my face. I reopened my eyes and their was still gripping firmly onto my arm.

"I really think I should go back to my place" I said trying to crack a smile as we made our way through the crowd. They glanced back at me their gaze unreadable. They shook their head and sighed.

"Karasu, The hokage knows your're under a lot of stress at the moment and you look like complete a wreck, just stay at my place at least for one night so I know your're okay " They said keeping their gaze forward.

"Okay Sakura" I said, I didn't want to disagree with her. Although I hated the idea of it, staying at theirs would relieve some stress. I didn't want people to be bothering me any more than they had to. If I acted cheerful tonight they would stop asking if I was okay. I sighed and looked up at the stars littering the sky. _**Just tonight**_ , I repeated in my head, _ **Just tonight**_.


	2. Chapter 2

Karasu POV:

I rolled over onto my side to gaze out the window. Dimming moonlight illuminated the hokages faces on the cliff, below them was the village spread out. I glanced at my clock, only 20 minutes until the sun rises. Sighing I placed a hand around my neck, tracing down the chain of my necklace until I felt the amethyst stone in my hand. I had stayed up all night staring at the ceiling, I'm too afraid I will wake up Sakura when I get the nightmares. She shouldn't have to worry about waking up to the sound of screaming coming from the room next to her. Lucky it was just us two, Sasuke was away on a mission for a few days, It made it easier to slip away into the guest room. I don't want to cause her more trouble than I already have. Being stuck in my thoughts I hadn't noticed the sun rising over the village, I looked out the window again to see light slowly trickling into the dark corners of konohagakure. I lifted the covers off my body and slowly got out of the bed. Grabbing my headband on the side table I made my way to the door, my footsteps creaked against the wooden floor. I cringed with every noise, carefully I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. It was still dark so I used my hand to guide me to the kitchen, I traced my fingers gently along the wall as if they were about to fall down. As soon as I reached the kitchen it got lighter, I stepped away from the wall and headed to the line of shoes near the door. I pulled on my sandals pulling them on as fast as I could, slowly I stood up and reached for the door when I remembered I forgot to thank Sakura. I grimaced and turned around looking for something to write on. On the bench I spotted a notepad and a pen, I quickly jolted down a thank you note before I left. doing a a light jog over to the front door, I left the building as silently as I could closing the front door behind me. I began to walk down the stairs that led up to their house, the metal clambered beneath my feet as I made my way down. Once I reached the ground the sun had risen slightly higher and was giving off an orange glow that cascaded across the village. I walked down the worn earth track to the ANBU Quarters, Birds began to sing at the arrival of the sunlight. People were beginning to stir and get out of their houses, and setting up their businesses. I continued to walk to my destination taking in my surroundings on the way.

I walked into the black ops change rooms, I approached my locker and opened the door. Inside was my uniform and my sword hung up on the side. Nobody else was here yet which allowed me to go straight to the showers. I slung my uniform and towel over my arm and closed the locker, I then made my way over to the shower. I closed the cubicle door behind me and turned on the water. Peeling off my clothing I stepped into the shower, the warm liquid flowed down my body as I scrubbed myself down. I watched as the water fell off my body and swirled into he drain. Looking down to see my scars I had received from previous battles. I studied the intricate patterns that had been carved from blades into my flesh. Shaking my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts I began to get out of the shower, drying myself down, I rubbed the cold stone settled against my neck. I placed the towel over my head and began putting on my uniform, leaving my fox mask off. Once finished I walked to my locker and stored away my clothes, a couple of people had arrived and were putting on their gear. Walking back to the bathrooms, I ran my fingers through my raven colored hair and enjoyed the wet texture. When I looked into the mirror I groaned, my eyes had large bags beneath them, rings of purple were developing. My complexion was pale and my body looked as if it was trying to hold onto the last thread keeping my life from slipping away. My usual blue eyes were dull as I put on my mask in an attempt to cover my features. I adjusted the porcelain fox mask until it sat properly on my face. Walking back to retrieve my sword a person tapped on my shoulder. I swirled around to see Tetsuhato looking down on me, I tried to adjust my posture to seem taller against his height.

"Yes, Sir" I inquired.

"The hokage has ordered to see you in his office" He replied, his features outlined by the light. Brown hair fell in front of his gentle hazel eyes as he leaned in waiting for a response. I cursed silently in my head, what could he possibly want?

"Okay, thank you for telling me" I replied curtly annoyed at the sudden news. He then walked off towards a few other members of the group and continued giving out instructions. I grabbed my sword on the way out of the room and began to head up to the hokages office trying to remain unseen. I jumped silently across the rooftops of townhouses and shops until I finally made my way to the office. I sat on top of its roof and lent over the edge to see the hokage writing down in some paperwork through the windows. Still on the edge of the roof I reached for the window and pulled it open. As quickly as I could I got onto the window sill and shot into the room leaving the window opened. I stood in front of the hokage, his hat now rippling from the cool breeze I had let in.

"There is a door for a reason you know" He said lazily not taking his eyes off the paper.

"Yes I know that, but I didn't want to be seen" I replied trying to sound as nice as I could. I shifted my stance so I was leaning off onto one foot. He continued his paperwork silently as I stood watching, I could feel myself getting more and more agitated by the minute.

"What did you need me to do?" I asked briskly. He lifted his head for the first time to look at me, we locked eyes through my mask as I awaited my answer.

"To take a break from working as part of the ANBU for a while" He replied casually, not moving his gaze from me. I could feel anger boiling in my chest, I tried to remain calm but the anger soon turned to dread. Was I not good enough? Was it my mission with Akiyue? Do they think its my fault? My heart pounded and my head spun with thoughts as I tried to think.

"Why?"I spat out, my chest feeling tight with concern and my throat dry. He gently rested his head on his hand, his masks material rippling.

"You haven't done anything wrong, your are still one of our top jonin. I was just wondering if you want to leave the ANBU and work directly under me" He said looking off to the side. I gulped at the statement, butterflies filled my stomach and a smile was creeping onto my lips. I could be working in one of the highest positions in the village. But doubt soon found me, I wasn't good enough to be one of his top Jonin to work with him. I had one of my comrades die two weeks ago because of my mistake, If I messed up at this job then I could end up killing Kakashi.

"I-i think that I will remain in the ANBU for now" I replied in a monotone. His face looked surprised that I had turned down the offer to work with him but it quickly left his features as he continued writing.

"Understandable, but the position is always open for you" He said sounding disappointed. A pang of guilt shot through my chest but I reminded myself that I was making the right decision.

Kakashi POV:

Damn it, I was hoping to keep a close eye on her. Not saying her skills weren't up to standard to be working with me, its just I know she would always refuse. I took a quick glance out the widow from which she entered before returning my gaze back to her.

"You are dismissed" I said, my gaze trying to decipher what was behind that mask. Cold, hard, emotionless exterior just like her. . She still hasn't gotten over her childhood and the death of Akiyue two weeks ago has triggered that cycle again. Yet another reason I want to keep an eye on her. I have always wanted her working directly beneath me but now seems like a good time to keep a watch on for her.

"Thank You" She said emotionless. I nodded and went back to my work, the sound of the window shutting signaled her exit. I sighed and leant back in my chair , taking off the hokage hat I ran my fingers through my hair. A knock on my door sounded and I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Come in" I called, I watched as a slender build entered the room. It was Yoake, her brown hair fell down to her lower back and her long eye lashes battered as she looked at me. Her uniform hugging her frame, she sat down on my desk beside my work.

"So how did it go?"she asked in a warm voice, tracing her fingers on my paperwork making the papers ruffle slightly.

"She didn't accept the offer to work with me" I trailed off as I put my hat back on. Yoake pouted before sliding off of the table, she turned towards me her hands behind her back as her hair swung. She gave me a look of sympathy before returning back to normal.

"Anything you need me to do?" She questioned suddenly perking up. I Lazily reached over to the roster and looked through it, I was glancing at the C ranked missions for her. I finally spotted one suited for her and her squad.

"Here's one, you can escort this woman and her husband to the sand village tomorrow. Is that okay with you?" I asked raising my eyebrows slightly.

"It sure does" she grinned, her brunette hair swished in front of her face as she tilted her head. She made her way to the door and walked out closing it behind her.

"Don't forget to bring your squad" I called out after her, my only response was a muffled grunt. I continued my paperwork, although my head was occupied of how to keep a closer eye on Karasu. When she does let her feelings out she snaps, emotionally and physically and I couldn't let that happen, not again.


	3. Author Note

**AUTHOR NOTE:**

 **Hi Everyone,**

 **First of I want to thank for everybody that has read my story so far, but I just wanted to tell you that on my Instagram you can look at my drawing of what I imagine Karasu to look like and other characters in my future stories. It is one of my first digital works and I hope you like it :)**

 **IG: ILKH0915**

 **Thanks,**

 **ILKH**


	4. Chapter 3

Karasu POV:

My stomach growled and pangs of hunger began to set in, I had gone the whole day without eating. I looked up the road to see the familiar lights of Ichiraku ramen. I felt the corners of my mouth turning up as I walked quicker to reach my destination, as I neared I could smell the scent of ramen filling my nostrils. My mouth began to water as I lifted the cloth hanging down from the entrance. I ducked underneath and took a seat, I sighed as I sat down thinking about Akiyue. It's been better this past week, but I just can't stop thinking about it. I let my head rest on my hand as I waited to order, I looked beside me, there was only one other person down the far end.

"Hey Karasu, what can I get for you?" Ayame asked politely, a smile plastered on her face, I looked up and crinkled my nose before trying to think of what to order.

"I think I will just have the usual thanks" I replied, she went back to work with Teuchi. I rested my cheek on my palm as I thought about Kakashis offer last week. I looked around the shop once more, the orange lights gave off a warm glow to the area. The noodles were boiling in the back and you could hear the mumbling of people on the street only separated by the thin cloth. I turned my thoughts back to the proposal, I closed my eyes trying to think. Maybe I should have taken up that offer. I bit my lip, but I would've messed up and that would spell disaster. Thoughts of doubt ran around my head whispering fears into my ears. I groaned and placed my head in my heads, covering my eyes I sighed out heavily.

"Whats up with you?" I heard a voice say behind me, I lifted my head up and slowly turned around. Kakashi stood there staring at me holding his book in one hand, my face remained still as he sat down next to me. Not the person I wanted too see at the moment. He kept the page he was up to in the book as he turned to face me, I avoided his eyes and looked at Ayame cooking the ramen.

"Nothing in particular" I said back to him, he kept his face the same as he kept turned his attention back to the book where he immediately immersed himself in. I looked at the cover of the book and chuckled inwardly. He looked at me slightly before turning back to his Icha Icha paradise book.

"I can't believe you really read that?" I said looking upwards, to my surprise I smirked at the stupidity of it. I let out a small dry laugh before returning my gaze to him, he was looking at me slightly amused at my statement.

"You aren't surprised about are you? I'm sure you've seen me read it before" He replied, yet again looking at his book, his face was calm as he read. I shook my head as I caught myself staring at him.

"Yeah, It's kind of hard not to notice you having your nose stuck in it every minute of the day" I said looking at him read the book, "It's just find it funny how our hokage reads, well ... you know... that stuff"

"Whats wrong with me reading erotic romance novels" he said blatantly loud. Everyone in the shop turned towards us, they all looked unsettled by his statement. I blushed slightly at his words, I could feel my face turning light pink as I continued thinking about what was in the book. The embarrassment of everyone looking at us only darkened the shade of red on my cheeks. I quickly covered my face with the sleeves of my jumper, unfortunately Kakashi had already noticed. He let out a small chuckle, I could see him smiling beneath his mask.

"Whats so funny you perv" I hissed at him, still covering my face with the sleeves. His eyes twinkled as he continued laughing at my reaction.

"Nothing in particular" he replied slyly, quoting my words. At that moment my bowl of ramen was placed in front of me, my stomach grumbled loudly. He laughed louder at my reaction to the food, his smile hidden beneath his mask. I took one of the chopsticks and snapped them apart, as soon as the crack sounded an image flooded into my head. The image of two icy poles being snapped apart by someone, passing one half to me. I groaned closing my eyes shut and pressing my hand against them, _Why did I have to think of that now?_ The blush quickly draining out of my cheeks.

"You alright there?" I heard Kakashi asked, concerned at my sudden change in behavior, I looked at him and took my hand away from my face.

"Yeah I'm fine" I lied through my teeth. I shoved mouthful of ramen in my face, the famine in my stomach soon fading away. The flavour hitting my mouth like a savior, after my first mouthful I ate another. I turned to see Kakashi was still immersed in his book, I sighed gratefully and finished off the rest of the noodles.

"Aren't you going to get anything?" I asked Kakashi wiping the broth from my chin, he snapped out of the trance of reading his book and turned to face me.

"I'm not hungry" He answered, _then why the hell is he sitting here?_ I immediately thought.

"Okay, then why are you sitting here?" I asked, curious to why he had stayed.

"Just wanted to see if you've thought any more about my proposal" He answered, shrugging his shoulders lightly.

"You could have just said that in the first place" I answered swirling my chopsticks in the cold broth left in the bottom of my ramen bowl, "but I have been thinking about it"

"So have you changed your mind?" he asked still reading his book. I narrowed my eyes, I really wanted to but I was worried. Thoughts yet again running through my mind, telling me all the possibilities. Kakashi ran a hand through his grey hair awaiting an answer.

"I. . . don't know" I said, letting my head fall into my two arms resting on the bench. The soft material brushed against my face as thoughts conflicted on my mind.

"Alright then, come back to me once you are sure" I heard Kakashi say. I lifted my head to see him standing up, closing his book in the process. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a note, he gently placed it onto the counter beside me.

"Kakashi I really couldn't" I said trying to push it back towards him. He just shook his head and lifted up the cloth at the entrance of the shop. His grey hair gently wavered in the wind.

"Don't over think the offer" He said turning back to me, before ducking underneath and joining the little crowd outside the shop. I frowned at the statement, I quickly payed Teuchi with the money Kakashi gave me. I headed out of the shop, _Don't overthink it,_ played over and over in my head _._ Maybe I was thinking to much about it. I squinted my eyes making a decision, I was basing it off what Kakashi had said. I felt doubt behind my choice but I chose to ignore it, the offer was bothering me enough as it is. Now my problem was finding Kakashi, I spotted a grey haired figure in the crowd down the road. the stars filled the dark sky above, the streets were barely lit by the street lamps. I began to jog towards his, my sandals splashing against the wet ground and wind nipped at my cheeks.

"Kakashi" I called out, he turned towards me his nose still glued in his book. His face was barely illuminated by the streetlamps, his hair blowing across his face in the wind.

"Yeah" he said, looking up from the book to talk to me.

"I'm, going to take up the offer" I said quickly, my doubts drained away as I told him my choice. I just hope it was the right one.

"Good to hear, I guess I will see you tomorrow then" He said, his face remained still as he turned away to keep walking.

"Wait, here's the money for before" I said pulling a note out of my pocket. It fluttered around in the wind as I held it up, Kakashi just stared at it. He lifted his hand up and pushed the money back towards me. He shook his head yet again as he took his hand away, leaving mine holding the money against my chest. I felt annoyance building in my chest _Why doesn't he take the money back?_ The feeling stopped as he placed his hand on my shoulder, it was warm against my cold clothing.

"Don't worry about it" He said leaning in towards my face, our eye contact never breaking. I shifted uncomfortably under his stare, I could feel my cheeks turning red again but for a different reason. I could feel the heat radiating off of him, his warm breath tickling my neck. Slowly he took his hand off my shoulder and leant backwards, he turned away and began to walk again, his nose glued to his book. My heart was pounding in my chest as he walked away, why the hell was I feeling like this.


	5. Chapter 4

Karasu POV:

Dark crimson liquid splattered across the cold concrete, the blood pooled as more gushed out of his chest. My hand was soaked with his blood, the pungency of the liquid filled my nostrils. He fell forward, a dull thud sounded as he hit the floor. His body laid on the ground as a growing puddle of blood lay beneath him. His face was still in the same shocked expression before I killed him. His eyes clouded over as the final piece of life drained from his body. I left as quickly as I came, without leaving a trace at the scene.

I jumped through the rooftops of buildings making a deep thudding sound every time I landed and pushed of again. I sheathed the red stained sword as I headed towards the hokages office. The wind ran through my hair as I jumped, my stomach churned every time that I went flying back down to the rooftops. My skin was pale underneath the full moon, contrasting against my dark uniform. I could see the office ahead and sped up in an effort to arrive quicker.

"So the mission is complete?" Kakashi asked, his eyes looking tireder than usual as he slouched in his chair. I studied his face as I waited to reply, my eyes were set on the scar running down his eye. I squinted slightly, trying to think of the possibilities of how he received it. He had it before I knew him, it wasn't a new scar. I realized I was staring and refocused on something else on the room. Luckily he couldn't see where I was looking through this mask.

"Yes Hokage" I replied as sternly as I could. This was the first mission he had sent me on, It had been a successful assassination. There was no witnesses an it was over in a matter of seconds.

"Good" he replied, he ruffled his hair slightly as he glanced at my hand. It was red with the blood of the victim, it had dried and had begun to crumble off. I clenched my hand into a fist snapping him out of his trance of looking at it.

"Is there anything else you require me to do?" I asked hoping that he would send me home so I could try to get some sleep. He must have sensed this as he shook his head slowly giving me a dismissive hand signal. I nodded and walked out of the office and down the pitch black hallway, through the darkness I could hear footsteps walking towards me. They were getting louder as I approached the stairs, a figure came into view and walked by me. I stopped in my tracks and watched the dark figure until they knocked on the hokages door, a light tapping sound ran throughout the building. As they opened the door and the light of the Hokages office shone through I could see who they were. She had brown hair sitting midway along her back, her uniform hugged her body as she walked in through the door the light highlighting her features. It only lasted a second as her hair strayed behind her before the door closed and I was left alone in the dark. _Who was that?_

Kakashi POV:

I watched as Karasu closed the door behind her, the last piece of her raven hair disappearing into the dark. Blood from the victim had stained her hand dark red, although somehow she didn't seem bothered by it. I sighed and leant back on my chair, she did well in her first mission but i'm just wondering how she will do the others. At least she was more collected this week and seems to have improved since Akiyue's passing. Due to her circumstances at the moment she works better in Solo missions than groups, it gives her less to worry about. Giving her simple missions is a way to occupy her at the moment until I find out what to do with her abilities. A light tapping sounded at my door snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Come in" I called out, the door opened to reveal Yoake, she closed the door behind her before walking into the room. I sat forward at my desk again, resting my head on my hands. She stopped walking abruptly in the center of the room, hands behind her back she was ready to give me her report.

"We finished our mission today" Yoake said firmly, I nodded before answering. She looked tired, her eyes were slightly baggy and her hair was messier than usual. Even her uniform was quite dirty, mud staining the material.

"Any complications?" I asked worried that the mission was too tough for her group of students, a distressed face flashed across her face before she turned back to normal. She bit her lip and looked at the ground, her brown hair falling in front of her face.

"The mission was fine, but. . ." She said looking worried at what she was going to say, beings uneasy an she shifted her pose slightly to a more timid one.

"What is it?" I asked curious to what had gotten her so troubled, if there was problems with the missions I had been setting for the group I needed to change them immediately.

"Well, this might seem a bit silly to say but it's one of my students . . ."

Karasu POV:

I watched as the red water swirled down the drain as I rubbed my hands together, slowly washing the blood off of my hand. My sword sat on the other side of the room, its blade shone as I had cleaned it already. After every trace of the blood had disappeared I dried my hands with a towel, today had gone well. Kakashi had assigned me a relatively easy mission, an assassination of a thug in the woods was something I did when I wasn't even in the ANBU. Although lasts night ramen shop incident was insignificant it made me feel odd, something about his touch on my shoulder coloured my cheeks. I shook my head vigorously trying to dispose of it, It was a stupid train of thought. What I needed to focus on is getting some dinner, I walked back to my bedroom. Stripping down, I threw my uniform in the wash grabbing out a new one for tomorrow. Hanging it on the door I slipped into my black pants similar to the ones from the ANBU, mesh shirt and a light grey flecked sleeveless hoodie. I sighed in relief, glad into something comfier, sitting on the bed I put my sandals on wrapping the bottom of my pants up with bandages. Walking out of the room I grabbed my wallet stuffing it in my pocket quickly, walking through the kitchen I checked that everything was tidy before leaving. Locking the door on the way out of my apartment I descended down the stairs, the metal clanking beneath my feet. The air was frigid against my bare skin, as I continued to walk. The streets were surprisingly busy for so late at night, people were moving in different directions like two rivers side by side. Everywhere I looked people were walking, turning my gaze upwards I looked at the star filled sky. The moon was stunning, small puffs of clouds were in front of it, by being outlined by the moons light it turned them silver. I studied every small detail about it as I walked down the road, until my side thumped into something. I stopped immediately and looked down it was a child.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going" I apologized to him as quickly as I could. He looked up at me with empty orange eyes contrasting greatly with his pitch black hair, his expression quickly changed from blank to slightly surprised. He looked at least over 12, I quickly looked around him, it seemed as if he was walking alone. In between the flow of people we stood still as I apologized.

"It's o-okay" He said quietly before walking away, I watched him disappear into the crowd before continuing to the shop. There was something about his eyes that I couldn't shake off, they were so bleak as if there was no life behind them. The colour seems to have clouded over, a wall of mist protecting him and keeping his thoughts unknown. It was a look I knew all too well, his eyes must have seen much over the years, with the fogginess over the eyes building up over time. His eyes almost like glass as if he were a doll, with no real purpose to what he was doing. I realized that the shopping center was close and I turned off to enter the store on the street, pushing open the glass door a warm blast of air hit me. I exhaled loudly as the warmth spread over me, glad to be out of the cold. The bright lights made me squint as they reflected off the clean tiles, I picked up a basket to collect my shopping in. My sandals clicked against the floor as I made my way over to the meat section, I looked at the array of meat available. I bit my lip as I picked up a packet of beef and placed it in my basket. Going through the shop I picked up the rest of my shopping, non stop thinking about the boy I bumped into. What had happened to him to make his body seem like an empty shell of a soul that was slowly diminishing. I finally reached the checkout, my basket filled with different ingredients. The women at the counter sorted it into plastic bags as I stood waiting still deep in thought.

"That would be $73 please" the cashier said politely, I pulled out my wallet and passed her a note. She took it and quickly calculated the change and gave me the excess money back. I thanked her as I grabbed my bags of shopping, one in each hand I left the warm shop and went back into freezing streets. The shop door closing behind me with a clink, I began to walk slowly. There was not as many people on the streets as there were before, the crowd had dimmed down slightly. The rush had died down and only late night wanderers roamed the streets heading home after a long day or going out to a breath was visible in the chilled air, I enjoyed watching the little clouds of breath disappear into the atmosphere. I walked, watching the little puffs of air I exhaled every step of the way.

"Karasu" I heard a voice call from behind me, I turned sharply to see Tetsuhato jogging towards me through the dimming crowd. I stopped and turned towards him, he gave a quick wave before he reached me. His brown hair waving in the slight breeze, turning a vibrant orange due to the flickering streetlights. He stopped abruptly once he reached me, his breath was wavering due to running.

"Hey, Tetsuhato" I said, as I watched him pant slightly. He ran a hand through his hair before turning his attention back to me. As he stood up straight I noticed there was a glimmer in his eyes, though he didn't show it on his face he was obviously happy about something.

"Congratulations, I heard the news about you moving up in the ranks " He said bursting into a smile, I narrowed my eyes slightly in confusion. How did he know about me being moved up the ranks? I thought it was confidential, not spread around. Being a leader of the squads he may have been informed about it, but not so suddenly, it would at least take a few days until he eventually found out. I had only missed out on one day of going to the ANBU so I highly doubt he immediately came to the conclusion of me working directly under the hokage.

"Thanks, but how did you know?" I asked hoping to find an answer to my question. He tilted his head sideways, looking slightly confused at my question. He blinked blankly before answering to my question.

"Well, I heard about it from one of your squad members. They had heard from a friend of theirs, that you and the Hokage were talking about it so they assumed you took the job. At first I didn't believe that their friend could easily have heard about it, but since you weren't there today it just proved the statement" He explained slightly nervous to me, I stood there wondering how someone could have heard about it. Then I remembered, that one person down the end of the ramen shop. Were they part of the ANBU, could they have been the ones to have heard about it? No, if they couldn't have, even if they did hear our conversation I didn't agree to the job in the shop. I was out on the street when that happened, they didn't follow me did they? I shook my head lightly, it doesn't matter that a few people found knew they were bound to anyway.

"Oh, that's alright" I said calmly, "Was just a bit curious to how you found out so fast"

"Was a bit sudden wasn't it, Anyways where are you headed now?" He asked looking at my shopping bags, I clung to them with my fingers which were slowly turning numb in the cold night.

"Uh, just back home" I replied, the question reminding me of the building dull ache in my stomach from barely eating all day.

"Which way do you live?" He asked, I was confused at the sudden question but decided to reply anyways.

"A few roads down that way" I said pointing down the street behind me, well lit by lamps and moonlight. Outlining a few people walking along the road, most of them carrying shopping like me.

"Come on then, lets go, mines in the same direction but its a bit closer" He replied walking past me grabbing one of my shopping bags on the way, I turned slowly to see him walking away. I was shocked at the actions and opened my mouth to protest but continued to ignore it as I did a light jog to catch up to him. My groceries jostled in the plastic bag with every stride I took towards him.

"You didn't have to do that you know" I said as I caught up to him, he looked down at me and smiled slightly. Annoyed at the assistance he was giving me I held back from snatching the bag back out of his hand, after all he was a squad leader of the ANBU and despite working directly under the hokage I still saw him as my superior.

"It would be rude not to" He said looking ahead, I had to look up to see his face as his height towered over mine. I returned my gaze back to the ground as I walked, the puffs of breath still visible in the chilled air. He had been a leader in the ANBU ever since I was enrolled, I had been involved with his group on multiple occasions. As a leader people often comment that he is too kind for the role, that he holds back on being tough towards his squad. I don't believe that to be true, being soft is probably one of the main things that keeps the people in his squad alive. Though he lacks strictness he makes up for it in his decision making and ability to read situations, not to mention his strength in battle. But that doesn't mean I haven't overheard rumors of him getting enraged, everyone in the ANBU is paranoid of this happening. Its funny to think that everyone is scared of someone they claim to be too soft and kind to everyone. I'm surprised that I was put to work directly under the hokage rather than him. He has definitely had more experience than me, I have been in the ANBU for a while but not as long as him.

"Hey, Tetsuhato" I said catching his attention as we continued down the road.

"Yeah" He said still keeping his gaze forwards, clutching the shopping in his hand. We were the only two walking along this street, our footsteps broke the still air, thick with silence.

"How long have you been in your job?" I asked, not saying ANBU worried that someone might hear. I waited for a reply from as we walked.

"Lets see, It must be about eleven years by now" He said looking up thoughtfully trying to calculate how long he had been in the ANBU.

"Hmph" was my only reply before it became silent again, he must of joined when he was at the same age as when I did. We continued down the road in an awkward silence, I racked my brain of something to say to him. Should I say something about myself or ask him about something again? Judging my options of what to say I tried to think of the best one to use, luckily he broke the silence for me.

"Well, I guess this is my where we part ways" He said stopping, I halted my steps as soon as he did. He held out the shopping bag towards me, graciously I took the bag from his hand. Our fingers slightly brushing as we did, I quickly jerked my hand back and placed it at my side still holding the shopping, I felt slightly embarrassed but kept it well hidden.

"I guess I'll see you around, thanks for carrying the shopping" I say, hoping to head home soon, his eyes glistened in the silver moonlight as he continued to smile.

"That's alright, see you Karasu" He said turning down into the dark street still grinning. I gave a small wave as he turned around his back now facing me, I kept watching him until the shadows swallowed him. How could he keep smiling for that long, wasn't his cheeks tired? I turned and continued back home, the frigid breeze chilling my bare skin. He wasn't too bad of a guy to be honest, very cheerful in whatever he does. My footsteps were now empty as I continued home with much to think about, but one image kept pushing its way through the others to get to the center of my attention. Those dull and lifeless orange eyes belonging to that young boy that I saw today.


	6. Chapter 5

_Karasu POV~_

 _That boy, who was he? I had to help him._ Why was I so bothered over this?

"Karasu"

"Karasu are you alright?"

I lifted my head slightly, reacting to the noise. I could see a hand being waved in my face, I blinked slowly as I looked around. I could see silver hair behind the hand, Kakashi was waving his hand in front of my face. Without thinking I slowly I lifted my hand and battered his away in a quick movement, _had I really been that distracted?_ He immediately straightened up as I hit his hand away. I was exhausted despite not going on a mission yet, I had barely gotten any sleep last night being so restless about the boy. I felt bed for slapping Kakashis hand away, it was rude of me to do so.

"Sorry, I just got distracted" I mumbled through my mask, he tilted his head slightly as if to say he didn't believe me. I stifled a yawn as I gazed at the soft morning sunlight was beginning to filter in through the large window positioned behind his desk. His office now had a hazy orange glow, illuminating surfaces revealing dust collecting on top of unused books. I turned my attention back to him as he ran a hand through his hair. He was standing a small way away from me, how didn't I notice him?

"It's alright, just don't get like that on the mission" was his only reply as he headed back to his desk, still twiddling with his hair. I watched as he sat down on his chair slowly, breaking the silence with a slight squeak. The room was calming, it had a comfortable blanket of silence over it as I awaited the mission. Picking up a piece of paper he began to read out the details to me.

"It's an assassination in a town North of here, it's been reported that there is a group of bandits residing there" He began, looking up to me, I nodded in understanding encouraging him to go on. The mission sounds like the last one I was on, but with a group not a single person.

"Apparently, there is a group of seven or more of them. Though there is rumors there is a rogue ninja from another village, but I can't be sure. It is possible they have assigned a tracker, if they have it's best to leave the situation alone. If you can't do anything about the mission just come back and report to me whats going on. I figured you would probably be alright with this, If you have any concerns I will assign someone else with you" He finished placing the paper down on the table with a flutter. I bit my lip thinking it over, it should be easy enough but if there is a rogue ninja my kekkei genkai would be helpful, depending on what their skill level they are at I may use it.

"It's fine, but could I possibly have the file on them, It would make the mission much easier" I requested hoping he would agree, he looked up slightly as if to think before replying. I rested my hand on my hip as I awaited his answer, hopefully I can gain something from reading the file.

"Yeah, I'll give it to you" He said as he reached over to the edge of his desk, picking up a thin folder he passed it to me. I took it from his hands, for a slight moment our fingers touched, I could find myself lingering as I took the folder enjoying the sensation of our fingers touching. _It feels nice._ Slowly I moved my hand away taking the folder with it, blushing at the fact I had thought such a stupid thing. I was glad that my face was covered with the mask, leaving my expression unknown. Clenching my jaw I opened the file, _what a stupid thing to think, what the hell is wrong with me these past few days._ He didn't seem to notice this and immediately went back to work.

Kakashi POV~

I glanced quickly upwards as I watched Karasu flick through the pages of the folder, her mask hid her face and every so often I would catch myself trying to imagine what facial expression lied beneath it. Her dark hair glistened in the warming light, her ANBU uniform was dappled with the sunlight. I continued to write down requests on the parchment as I awaited for her to finish reading. The only sound was the sound of flicking paper, it seemed peaceful as I wrote. Though she wasn't saying anything it was as if her presence was filling the usually lonely room. Suddenly the turning of the pages was stopped as she placed the folder back on the desk, I blinked slowly as I looked towards her.

"I'll head off now" She said her tone was bland, so different to what I had seen the other night. It seems if that night was forgotten, as if it had never happened. During that time I feel like I had a glimpse of what she was really like beneath the layers of blank emotions. The wall around her had slowly crumbled, allowing some light to shine through. Even if I was embarrassing her I felt as if I had achieved something, I had changed the colour of her cheeks, and made her smirk. Although, just now she was completely distracted, I felt like I almost had to shake her to snap her out of it. But on that night was more emotions than I had seen her show in a long time, I fiddled with my pen as I straightened up to look her in the eye.

"Alright" I replied as I watched her figure disappear, leaving me alone once again in the lonely room. I sighed slightly, I liked it when people came in to the office and gave me some company, the room was filled when they were there. Now the room was empty and the silence was overwhelming, leaning my head on my hand I began to sort the requests into different rankings. It would be nice to have someone in here with me, just to keep me company.

The day passed the same way as usual, people coming in for requests, others reporting back from missions and sorting out squads. I hadn't heard anything more about Hametsu from Yoake, the conversation we had last night has been bothering me. He had been acting distant from the other group members, and being uncooperative as well as ignoring direct orders from Yoake. It was something I had to sort out before the situation gets worse, just another headache to add to the mix.

It was now nightfall, stars were shining brightly in the inky blue sky and the moon was a luminous orb, allowing hazy blue light to cascade over the village. I yawned loudly as I slowly read over request for tomorrow,

Find a missing dog,

Assassination of a gang group,

Acting as bodyguards for a business man,

 _How many more of these do I have to sort out?_ Groaning I began to sort them one by one as my eyelids drooped, scribbling down notes next to the missions.

"I'm back" a voice sounded in front of me, I widened my eyes slightly surprised that I hadn't noticed them come in. I lifted my head to see flowing raven in front of me, it was Karasu. I looked at her uniform to see crimson droplets of blood splattered across the material, it was barely noticeable. Her hand however, was stained red with blood once again, she must have carried out the mission. Across her shoulder was a deep gash, blood trickled down her arm as if it was water down rocks, as she stood calmly in front of me.

"How did it go?" I questioned, hoping to receive some information from her. She rubbed her fore finger and thumb on her bloody hand, causing some of the dry liquid to crumble off.

"There was a group of eight thugs, including a rogue ninja. Though there was a rogue ninja, though no tracker was apparent and I couldn't find which affiliation he belonged to. I took out the group of thugs including the ninja, though I didn't confirm the ninjas affiliation I took the precaution to destroy his body just in case" She stated her voice seemed tired, I nodded to her statement slightly worried about the exhaustion in her voice. I fiddled with my pen as I thought the information over in my head, still looking at the gash on her shoulder.

"Alright, just get that shoul-" I began to say before the door was flung open with a loud bang interrupting my sentence. I could see Karasu turning towards the door to see who it was, I stretched my neck to see the person. Brown flowing hair, it was Yoake, her face displayed slight worry as she looked into the room. Her face immediately changed as she saw someone was already in the office, it turned to a sheepish grin as she leant against the door.

"Sorry for interrupting but I really need to talk to you Hokage, its about Hametsu" She said, slightly panting while rubbing the back of her head. Karasu turned to face me waiting for dismissal or for an order.

"Okay Yoake. You're dismissed, and take care of the shoulder" I said directed at Karasu, she gave a small nod before heading out of the room. Karasu exited through the door as Yoake stood to the side to let her through, after the last of Karasu had disappeared Yoake closed the door and walked up to the front of my desk.

"He didn't show up for training today, and none of my students had seen him since he disappeared during training yesterday" She said frantically, word spilling out of her mouth like a waterfall. Her face contorted into one of worry and concern, she bit her lip as if it was to provide a form of comfort.

"Have you checked at his house, he could be sick" I stated calmly, trying to reassure her that he hadn't disappeared. Her face was still worried as I spoke, she hadn't relaxed at all.

"That's the thing, he wasn't there and I looked all over the village after training and I couldn't find him anywhere. He's been reckless for the past few months and I'm worried somethings happened to him, he has always been touchy" she explained, still concerned about the matter. I tugged on a stray piece of hair as I thought of what to do, the kid was probably blowing off steam but it's worrying that he didn't show up at training and wasn't at his house. Narrowing my eyes I thought of what to do, I should send a few shinobi to look for Hametsu.

"I'll send some shinobi to look for him, rest easy in the meantime, your other students don't need a tired out teacher as well as a disappearing team member" I replied to her statement, her face calmed slightly but I could tell she was still anxious. She exhaled loudly, obviously stressed about it, I couldn't blame her it was one of her students after all.

Karasu POV~

"I'll send some shinobi to look for him, rest easy in the meantime, your other students don't need a tired teacher as well as a disappearing team member" I could hear Kakashi's words echo in my head, _why was I searching for this kid? Its not like anyone asked me to. Besides I don't even know what he looks like._ Iran silently across the rooftops of the village, the sound of my quiet footsteps was lost to the wind. The gash on my arm stung as the cold air whipped against the broken flesh, I tried my best to ignore it as I continued to jump across the rooftops one by one. My lack of sleep last night had taken a bigger toll on me after the mission, my eyes were heavy with tiredness and the muscles in my body felt as if they could give way at any moment. I surveyed the moonlit village, trying to think where someone would go to get away from the stress of everything. My immediate thoughts were set on the training grounds I had spent hours practicing at, it soon flickered to the top of the hokage faces to walking around on the streets. These were the places I would go to think, but Hametsu wasn't me. I sighed and immediately halted, the cold wind lashed against my skin as I stood deep in thought as where I was going to go. Going through my options I decided to head over to the hokage faces, if he didn't show up at training I doubt he would go to the training grounds later today. Changing my direction I began to head towards the massive faces carved into stone, I looked at each one studying them closely, all of them great shinobi of their time. A Honorable but burdensome task. The streets were silent, only a quiet mumble arose from taverns where people stayed up until the sunrise. The streets were illuminated by the moons hazy glow, mixed with the fluorescent orange that was emitted from the streetlamps. The faces were rapidly approaching as I ran towards them, soon enough I was beneath the monumental carvings. I took a quick look around hoping to spot something, any sign that somebody was here. _Nothing._ No noise from the streets, it was now only the harsh wind. Turning my gaze upwards I wondered if I should look on the top, making a quick decision I launched myself upwards. Pushing off of the rooftop I jumped from ledge to ledge, my feet making a large thwacking sound every time I landed. I shook my head and make myself take more care of how loud I was when I landed, now it was only a slight tapping sound. I was almost up the top now, _I just want to go home and sleep._ I ignored my thoughts and scaled the rest of the wall, once I had arrived at the top I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned to overlook the village, under the crisp moonlight it was beautiful. Every silver rooftop was glowing, I tried to imagine all the people beneath them, _what were their lives like?_ I stayed staring at it for a while, watching the peaceful village sleep in what seemed like an eternal slumber. Finally pulling myself away I turned my attention back to getting the kid, looking around I realized that the place was completely empty. The rocky area was only disturbed by a few buildings, I groaned in exhaustion I was too tired to look anywhere else. I'm guessing I could summon Nikko and Yuki, _do I really want to do that though?_ Sighing, I reluctantly bit my thumb nipping at my skin, _This is the only way I will be able to get some sleep tonight._ Blood came out of the bite in blobs, holding my hands up I began to make hand signs.

 _Thwack_

 _What was that?_ I stopimmediately and look in the direction of the sound, It was coming from the cliff. Walking over to the cliff I saw something out of the corner of my eye, I whipped around to look at it. To my right a figure was pulling themselves off of the cliff and onto the flat ground, I watched them as they slowly stood up spitting curse words. It was the kid from last night, the one that possessed those blank orange eyes. I know I should focus on finding Hametsu, but I want to ask him if he was okay, maybe then my thoughts would subside.

"Hey!" I called out to the boy, his eyes opened wide as he looked at me shocked to see I was there. I walked calmly towards him, he stood his ground as I approached.

"What do you want?" He snarled unimpressed. Immediately a group of thoughts ran through my mind, _Was he Hametsu? Surely he wasn't, but I did see him last night._ I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind as I prepared to ask him another question.

"Are you Hametsu?" I said, he looked confused as I asked him. He soon crossed his arms and a scowl washed over his features. Not answering he turned away from me and began walking, the thumping footsteps disturbed the harsh wind.

"I asked you a question" I raised my voice getting annoyed, crossing my arms I waited for him to respond. He turned back to me his pose rigid, his eyes were no longer dull but filled with anger and perhaps sadness, I couldn't tell.

"Yes, so what if I am!" He yelled over the wind, _so I was right._

"Why didn't you show up to training?" I asked, as I awaited an answer he took a few steps towards me. His hair wavering in front of his eyes furiously as the wind blew harshly.

"Damn Yoake tell you did she? Why can't she just piss off! I don't want to be part of her damn team-" he continued to rant at me as the wind picked up, the cut on my shoulder was aching and my exhaustion was growing. He was barely audible but I could still hear him, something was different now. His eyes were growing watery and his voice began to crack, after the first tear broke the rest followed in an unbroken stream. He fell to all fours as he cried, I stood there shocked, I had only asked him to answer why he wasn't at training. Maybe he was crying because of the reason behind it, I knelt down to his level as I watched droplets fall to the dampening ground below. His backpack rustled loudly, a clinking noise came from the bag, _what was that?_

Kakashi POV~

I had just ordered some ninja to look for Hametsu, although Yoake stayed here anxiously awaiting to see if he could be found. She paced in circles in front of me as she fidgeted with her hair, twirling it around her finger. I continued to sort out missions, though I was about to leave in a few minutes, I couldn't allow one genin to interrupt my work flow. The office silent apart from the quiet pattering of feet and the scribbling of my pen.

 _Clunk_

I looked around the room to see nothing, I narrowed my eyes as I listened for it again. There was now an additional pair footsteps coming from outside, I watched as the door opened and a familiar fox mask came into the room holding a bag. Yoake watched intently as the door widened, another figure entered the room, one of a young boy. He looked at the floor with shame as he entered the room, his black hair covering his eyes which were red from what I guessed to be crying.

"Hametsu" Yoake said, her face had completely changed from worry to anger as she looked down on him. Taking his wrist gently she led him out of the room, taking a quick glance at Karusu she nodded a quick thanks before leaving the room. Though she was angered you could see she was glad that Hametsu was okay, closing the door gently behind her the room was silent once again.

"Where did you find him?" I asked Karasu, she looked to me and tilted her head slightly. Her arm was stained red, _she's lost a lot of blood._

"Hokage faces, climbed to the top" she replied exhausted, walking towards me she placed the bag on my desk. Her steps were wobbly as she walked but she still seemed to be dignified as she approached me.

"Is that his?" I asked, looking at the worn out bag wondering why she had placed it there.

"Open it" she said, leaning against the table for support. I lifted up the top of the bag allowing me to see into it, something gleamed in the dim light. Reaching into the bag I pulled the item out, a kunai. I pulled more things out of the bag shurikan, more kunai, scrolls, blades and a pouch. The pouch clinked as I shook it, _was it money?_ Iopened the packed pouch, looking inside I could see the whole thing was filled to the brim with money. I tipped it out onto the table with multiple clinks for whenever a coin hit the surface of my desk. Two pieces of paper fell out of the bag landing ontop of the money. Picking it up, I looked at the photo on the front, It was a picture of what seemed to be a young Hametsu and perhaps his little sister. On the other was a picture of a group of men and women, a group of children were at the front including Hametsu and the girl, I narrowed my eyes as I looked at them, were they family members.

"Know who they are?" I questioned Karasu, slumping with exhaustion she turned to face me.

"First one is of him and his sister, second one I have no idea who they are possibly relatives all he said about them is that they were traitors. Though I have an idea what he was doing, I think he was planning to kill someone, maybe those in the second picture,who knows? I'm not sure of any other reason why he was armed to the teeth, other than running away but he would have at least packed some simple necessities like food" She replied, now sitting on the desk as she watched me examine the photos. Her posture indicated how tired she was, the gash on her shoulder was bleeding slightly only adding to the vivid red colour on her arm.

"Alright, we should keep a closer eye on him and possibly find out if he was trying to kill these people for sure and if so why" I said still gazing at the gash on her shoulder. I should get that seen to, reaching into my weapons pouch I felt around for the bandages I kept stored away. _Damn, I can't find them, maybe there's some in one of the other rooms._ Standingup I walked around the desk and up to the door, my footsteps were the only noise in the room.

"I'll be back, just stay there" I said before exiting the room and walking into the dark hallway. I could hear the mutter of Karasu responding as I walked up the hall in search of a first aid kit. The clunking against the wood beneath my feet broke the silence in the dark hallway. I squinted my eyes to see ahead of myself, I looked for a room on the right of me. Noticing the door up ahead I walked towards it, grabbing the cold handle I pushed it open. Inside the dim room was multiple benches and shelves, stacked with books and boxes. _I'm sure that there is a first aid kit in here somewhere, I think I last left it on one of the shelves._ Flicking on the light switch I stumbled over piles of books to the arrangements of shelves, they were slightly higher than me. Reaching up onto the shelves I felt around for the metal box. My fingertips soon touched a cold metal surface, _this must be it._ Latching onto the box I pulled it down from the shelf, holding the box in my hands I made my way back into the hallway. Turning off the light and closing the door behind me I walked back down the dark hall. Opening the door to my office my breath hitched in my throat, at the desk I could see the figure of Karasu sitting in my chair, leaning over the desk her mask off revealing she was sleeping. I closed the door quietly as I entered the room, walking silently over to her I placed the first aid kit on the table. Her face was peaceful as she drew in quiet breaths, her nose twitching slightly every time she did so. Her head was supported by her crossed arms as she used them for a pillow, beside her was her fox mask with blue markings. Her dark hair fell around her face messily making the large bags underneath her eyes even more noticeable, _I should let her have a day off tomorrow_. I needed to wake her up so I could bandage the wound, placing my hand tenderly on her back I shook her slightly.

"Karasu, I need to wrap up the gash on your arm" she stirred slightly at my words but didn't open her eyes. I groaned in annoyance internally, I would have to bandage her arm either way. Getting the bandages I began to wrap her arm, putting on the gauze first. I had to brush her long hair out of the way constantly to be able to wrap up her arm properly. I made sure to be gentle so she wouldn't awaken, she was tired, she needed the sleep. Finally I finished the bandaging of her arm, tenderly checking everything was wrapped perfectly I packed up the kit. Now my only problem was getting her home, if she won't wake up right now it's going to be a problem. I couldn't help but glance at her face, it looked so peaceful while she was sleeping. Even with the messy hair and bags under her eyes, I considered her the same as I did everyday.


	7. Chapter 6

Karasu~

It was deadly silent,

All my senses seemed to be rendered useless,

I was standing in utter darkness,

A sweet scent caused my nose to tingle,

It seemed so familiar, yet I couldn't remember it,

The darkness in front of me began to swirl,

A hazy vision started to appear as I gazed on with tired eyes,

A figure appeared in front of me,

Blood was smeared at the corner of their lips which formed a weak smile,

Their coal black eyes were glazed over, looking lifeless,

Though she was still breathing,

Her short black hair fell messily around her shoulders,

They were standing awkwardly, their body leaning slightly to the right,

Her uniform was drenched in blood,

I gazed into the massive gash across her torso,

Tears brimmed my eyes as I continued to look at her,

As I felt the salty droplets rolled down my cheeks I reached out to her,

My hand was positioned to land on her shoulder,

I expected for her body to be warm or cold,

But, my hand passed straight through her body,

Like dust flying in the wind her image scattered,

Disappearing as soon as I touched the vision,

Unmei,

My sister,

Had left me alone once again.

Kakashi POV~

The streets were silent as I walked down the now abandoned road, gravel crunched underfoot as the weight on my back shifted. The sky was an inky blue, dotted with stars that formed intricate patterns, pale blue light cascaded from the moon above. I continued to walk, ignoring the slight shift, the night was cold and I was determined to get back home as it was getting late. At first I thought that I was imagining it, but I felt wet droplets brushing against my neck. I turned my neck ever so slightly, I was shocked to see a stream of tears falling from Karasu's face. Her expression seemed calm but hid the emotion of anguish. My hands tightened on her thighs as I continued to walk, my chest swirling with sympathy. As I could see my house come into view the arms around my neck tightened slightly, as I felt Karasu's face bury deeper into my neck. Hot breath warmed my skin, sending shivers down my spine. Her ANBU mask was smooth against my fingertips, as I continued to walk. I felt a small gasp come from behind me, the weight on my back shifted quickly.

"Kakashi?" I could hear Karasu murmur from behind me, her muscles suddenly tightening and she now gripped firmly onto my shoulders. I turned to see her soft blue eyes, silver under the moonlight, she had confusion in her gaze. Damn, I woke her up.

"Could you please put me down?" she said in a hoarse whisper, I felt a slight jab in the chest as she said those words. I couldn't pinpoint the feeling, yet it seemed so familiar, Maybe I just didn't want to recognize it. I released her legs and allowed her feet to touch the ground, she immediately let go of me. I spun around to look at her, she had dark, messy hair sticking out at all angles, blue eyes that appeared silver, her bandaging had some blood leak through and was turning a dark crimson colour. Her necklace with the amethyst stone pendant glinted in the dim light, only adding to the simple beauty of the stone. On her cheeks remained moisture from the tears that streamed down her face. There was little droplets sitting on her eyelashes as she blinked. Reaching up to touch her face she tensed as she felt her wet cheeks, she quickly wiped them dry with her sleeve avoiding eye contact with me.

C-cute. . . I immediately blushed at the sudden thought that crossed my mind, I quickly pulled up my mask to hide my coloring face. Turning my head to the side, I immediately regained my composure.

"I was carrying you since you fell asleep" I looked towards her again, wanting to explain myself quickly to her. She didn't seem to care as she continued to wipe her eyes, she finally looked up to me after a short silence. Only the buzz of the streetlights cut through the dense quiet surrounding us like fog.

"Thank you, but I should be going now" She said, reaching out her hand she gently tugged at her mask. I allowed her to take it as she retracted her hand, the smooth surface rubbing against my fingers for the last time that night. I felt worried, I knew she would want to head home but, she was so exhausted I don't know if she would take care of herself. I was hoping I could take care of her even for a little while, just so I know she was okay.

"You have no missions tomorrow, so get some rest" I said softly, she paused slightly before continuing to put on her mask. Her face remained the same still composure, but something was different. It was only visible for a second, but it was still there. She had a soft shade of pink dusting her cheeks.

"Okay. . ." I heard a slightly muffled voice come from beneath the mask, I watched her disappear in front of me. I was left alone on the cold street, the stars gazing down on the village as I began to walk back where I was headed. I thought about the image that kept forming over and over again in my mind, I knew it was insignificant to blush, but it was such a change from what I usually saw.

Karasu~

I burst through the door of my apartment feeling utterly embarrassed, I flicked on the lights and ripped my mask off. Walking to my bedroom a sensation of numbness washing over me. Why did I have to dream of that now? I completely ignored the dream I had as I was occupied with thoughts of embarrassment. Not bothering to turn on the light I shuffled over to my bed, and sat down. I buried my head in my hands as I leant forward.

I had fallen asleep in front of Kakashi

I had cried in front of Kakashi

I had blushed in front of Kakashi

If anything I was glad I wasn't going in tomorrow for work, at least then I wouldn't have to face him after he had carried me while I cried in my sleep. I just needed to get out of there as soon as possible. Even so I couldn't help my face from turning pink. Damn Kakashi. I grunted in frustration, I slowly took my hands away from my face and began to take off my sandals. Slowly untying the bandages wrapped around my legs and sandals I slipped them off. Taking off the armour I wore during my missions and threw them into a pile beside my bed. Leaving me in my ninja uniform pants and shirt, peeling the covers back on my bed I climbed in. I held my head tightly as I buried myself further into the blankets as I tried to forget the events of the day. A cool water washed over me as I drifted out of consciousness.

I groaned slightly as I rolled to my side, slowly my eyes fluttered open allowing me to see golden sunlight streaming in the window. Another dreamless sleep. I feel horrible. I glanced at the clock beside my bed to check the time, 9:00. My chest swirled with panic before I realized that I wasn't going in for work today. I slowly got out of bed and walked over to my cupboard, I pulled out my usual training gear of a black hoodie, a grey shirt, a pair of my uniform pants and my headband. Walking out of the room with my clothes slung over my shoulder, I headed towards my bathroom.

I walked into the cool area, golden sunlight from the open window dappled the room. I threw my clothes over a rung beside the shower and opened the cupboard to find a towel. I took out a white fluffy one and threw it onto the pile of clothes. Turning on the water of the shower, I let it run as I got undressed. I looked at the bandaging on my arm, Kakashi had done a good job, but I needed to take it off for the shower. Slowly I unraveled the bandage and placed it on the basin, I took a look at the cut. It was fairly deep, no wonder Kakashi was worried. I threw my dirty clothes into a pile and stepped into the shower, enjoying the sensation of the warm water. My cut stung slightly as the water rushed over it, I ignored the pain and gently rubbed off the dried blood on my arm from the injury. I reached over to my shampoo and squeezed the berry scented liquid into my hands. Lathering it up I began to think of the past few days, in all honesty I was exhausted and glad to have this break. Even if it was out of pity. Though I had found that kid, I felt worried about him doing something rash again. I shook my head as I began to run the shampoo through my hair, this isn't something I should worry about on my day off. I rinsed out the shampoo and continued my routine in the shower. Examining the new cuts on my body I rinsed out the last of the conditioner. Once I had finished I reached over to the handles and turned the shower off, immediately feeling cold afterwards. I wrung my hair, trying get most of the water out.

Stepping out I began to dry myself with the towel, after I was thoroughly dry I re wrapped my wound with new bandages, though it wasn't as good as Kakashis, it would still do the job. Afterwards I tentatively put on my clothing, wrapping the heandband around my forehead. Sighing, I slung the wet towel over my shoulder and walked over to the dirty pile of washing, picking it up I opened the door and walked out of the room. Walking back into my bedroom I threw my dirty clothes into my washing basket, my room was clean but could still go for a sorting out. I looked outside and the sunlight had disappeared behind clouds, encouraging me to get a scarf. I walked over to my cupboard once again and pulled out a large white scarf out of one of the draws. Beside my bed was my sandals, I grabbed them in one hand and walked out of the room. Exiting the bedroom I walked into the kitchen. I wrapped the scarf around my neck, grateful for the warmth it gave off. I slipped into my sandals that came halfway up my calves, and walked over to the bench, grabbing my house keys and wallet I put them into my pants pockets. I can grab breakfast down the street. Checking I had everything I walked over to the front door, opening it I stepped out into the cool air. Turning back around I locked the door behind me, descending the stairs down to the street I nuzzled further into my scarf.

There was a few people down on the street, buying things from the multiple shops. Scents wafted into my nose, my stomach rumbled loudly, I should get breakfast soon. My thoughts wondered aimlessly as I walked to the nearest food shop to get something to eat. I spotted a shop where they sold Miso soup and immediately headed towards it. Dodging people as I advanced towards the shop. Luckily there was nobody in line as I sat down in on the stools, I quickly ordered my meal. As I waited impatiently I glanced towards the road to entertain myself, I recognized a few familiar faces but nobody I really knew. Scanning over the crowd again, I recognized a pink haired kunoichi and a long blonde ponytail, I gave a smile and a wave as they walked by. Sakura and Ino gave me a large grin and a wave before continuing to walk down the street in their ninja uniforms. They must be going on a mission.

A subtle clink informed me that my meal was ready, I thanked the waiter and began to eat my meal. I quickly ate the meal of miso soup and white rice, glad to have had something to eat. I paid the fee for the food and left the shop, wondering what I was going to do for the rest of the day. I should train.

I sighed heavily and decided to get to the training grounds as quickly as possible. Crouching down slightly I propelled myself upwards and onto the nearest rooftop, I continued to jump from roof to roof towards the training grounds. Every time I began to fall back towards the roof, my stomach dropped. My hair flowed freely behind me like ribbon dancing in the wind, my scarf trailed behind me as I saw the greenery of the training area up ahead. The sky was still overcast as I reached the forest, as I left the populated area I began to walk. Jumping onto the dirt road I spotted the bridge I usually crossed up up my speed I continued to walk towards it, the wind rustled the trees on the other side of the river. I began to walk across the wooden bridge, the river beneath it was calm as I walked over the bridge. The wood creaked beneath my feet as I continued to walk. Running my hand over the red railing I reached the other side of the river, a cool breeze caressed my cheeks. I sighed as I looked at the open training area, I want to work on my defense technique, but it would be hard without a training partner. I should work on my rasengan technique, it's relatively new so I should improve it.

I walked over to an area where I was surrounded by multiple rocks and trees. My footsteps thudded against the hard ground, the wind was picking up slightly. I exhaled, lifting my right hand up, I began to form a ball of blue chakra in my hand. It whistled as it grew larger, streams of chakra swirled as I allowed it to grow bigger. Stepping forwards I thrust my hand towards a tree, the ball of chakra blast through it. I felt resistance as I continued to move my hand forward. I squinted my eyes as little bits of bark flew towards me. My injury stung slightly as I moved my body quickly to send the blow. Leaving destruction it's wake, the tree fell to the ground. A large ball shaped hole present in it's trunk. Not strong enough. Was the only thought that came to mind as I examined the damage. As I was doing this I could hear shuffling from nearby, was somebody else training? I turned my head to the right, thinking that's where the sound came from. A different noise sounded as I could hear footsteps thumping against wood. Who was watching me?

Byakugan. . .

I squinted as I closed my right eye and began focusing on the position the noise was coming from. I could soon see a figure moving, they were quite short and looked to be younger. She had short orange hair that came just above her shoulders, and a pair of green eyes. A genin, they must be out here training too. Curious as to where her squad was I looked further with my byakugan until I saw a clearing up ahead. In that clearing was two people I recognized, Yoake and Hametsu. With them was another boy, he had messy fawn hair that covered light brown eyes. So they're out here too, they wouldn't recognize me from last night as I was wearing a mask. I deactivated my byakugan and continued to practice my rasengan. Why was she watching me earlier?

Next Morning~

I quickly appeared in the Hokages office, wanting to get this mission as soon as possible. The sky was already a clear blue, with very little clouds in sight though there was supposed to be rain for the rest of the week. Kakashi was spinning around in his chair, leaning his head back with his eyes closed. Messy, silver hair covered his headband, this morning he wasn't wearing his hokage gear. He came to halt as he faced me, opening his eyes he leant forward on his desk, using his arms to support his head. His tired charcoal eyes connected with mine through the mask. Even though he couldn't see where I was looking though the mask, I felt embarrassed about looking directly into their eyes.

"You're here already for the mission Karasu?" he asked idly, once again I caught myself staring at his scar wondering how he got it. Luckily I pulled myself out of my trance and managed to answer him.

"Yes" I answered simply, he slowly stretched his arms and reached over for a thin file. As he reached over I caught a glimpse at the cover of his book "Icha Icha Paradise". I smirked beneath my mask, finding it amusing that he kept it on him at all times. He retrieved the file and opened it, flicking through a few pages he found the one he was looking for.

"An assassination of a political figure in the land of feathers was ordered by the feudal lord, there has also been a request that you assassinate a few thugs in the area he is connected to, which have been causing trouble. His name is Hiromasa Amari and he lives in the same house as the feudal lord, apparently he has been leaking information about the country to outsiders" he gave me the summary of the mission as I soaked in the information. It sounded like a mission I could easily complete without complications, as long as I didn't get distracted again. Hopefully I didn't receive any further injuries from it, though it seems no other ninja are involved.

"Alright, I will head off as soon as possible" I replied, I would just have to organize some additional supplies, as it's at least two days away. Though it seemed relatively easy, I couldn't let my guard down on the mission. I was about to head off before Kakashi stopped me.

"I'm going to be placing you in a grouped mission soon, how do you feel about it?" He asked seeming aloof, yet cautious at the same time. I honestly didn't mind, it would be nice to not work solo all the time. I watched him scan over me, probably for a sign of rejection to the idea.

"I would appreciate working in a group for my next mission" I replied, thinking it would be a good idea for me to go on teams with people again. Secretly I hoped I would be grouped with people I knew. But, I wouldn't mind if I didn't know the people I was on the squad with.

"Good I'll organize that for next time, and how's your arm?" he questioned me again, I felt a pang of embarrassment remembering the events. An urge to ignore him and leave washed over me. Hopefully the event would blow over soon, sighing silently I forced myself to keep calm and respond instead of letting my cheeks turn red. I have to stop getting so embarrassed.

"It's doing better than before, thank you for wrapping it up" I said politely, I was grateful for that help, otherwise I would have been in a worse state. It was really sweet to do that for me, I hadn't really seen Kakashi act like that before towards me. I could still feel my face heating up as I said that, ugh I need to get in control.

"That's alright, just make sure if you get another injury like that to go to the medics before going off again" he stated, I felt ashamed for going after that kid now. But it was true, I did need to go see someone about my injuries first, but I couldn't help myself. Somehow I felt as if I was a student being told off by my sensei, how annoying.

"Understood, I'll be heading off now" I said, not wanting to continue the conversation that was making my face turn red with embarrassment. Yet again I was glad to have the ANBU mask covering my face. He gave a nod, before I disappeared and headed off on my mission.

 **I apologize for the first version of this chapter, the text had glitched luckily that has been fixed and I hope you can enjoy the chapter now.**


	8. Chapter 7

Karasu POV~

Footsteps echoed through the dark hallways as guards walked up and down the passageway, passing the person I was to assassinates door. The injury on my arm had begun to bleed again, and I had received a new gash on my back. _I really should work on my defense._ I stayed hidden behind one of the corners leading into the hallway. I closed my right eye, using the byakugan in my left eye to watch where they were walking. They had walked past the door of the politician, and turned right into another hallway. _You would at least think that they would stay beside his door._

As soon as they had turned the corner I was outside the politicians door in a flash. Within seconds it swung open silently, allowing for me to enter the room. Closing the door behind me without a sound I turned to face the room. Moonlight filtered in through the open window, allowing a breeze in that made the curtains flutter. Outside the sky was filled with dark, ominous clouds that threatened to break apart at any moment and release lightning onto the ground below. In the dim light I could see the faint outline of the man I was to assassinate on the bed. I walked slowly up to lump beneath the covers. A loud rumble from outside caused him to stir slightly, seconds later a flash lit up the room illuminating his face. His appearance was the same as I had seen on his files. He was a younger man, probably around the same age as me. His blonde hair fell in front of his closed eyes, soft breaths disturbed his motionless sleep. He had a kind smile splayed across his face, at first glance he wouldn't look to be horrible. _Though looks can be deceiving._

I drew my blade, saying a quick apology, I slashed his neck. His face still displaying a kind smile as blood oozed from his body. I sheathed my sword and sighed heavily, I already had killed the thugs, some of which were rogue ninjas. This caused me to use my right eye, which I like to deactivate in battle due to the consequences of overusing it. I looked one last time as his life drifted away before exiting out the open window, and into the night's safety.

 _ **Time Skip~**_

I had just arrived at the Hokages office, the lights were still on despite it being so late. _Why was he still up at this hour?_ I jumped through the window and appeared in front of his desk, he looked up from his work and looked at me softly.

"You're back early, I thought it would take at least two days" He said to me, obviously tired from sitting at his desk all day. His hair wasn't restrained by his headband any longer and it stuck out in unruly spikes that covered most of his eyes.

"I wanted to get back quickly due to suffering some injuries" I stated reminding myself of the burning sensation present on my back. I had also received multiple scratches on other parts on my body. I could feel blood soaking my shirt, I shuddered slightly at the unsettling feeling.

"Heh, I might need to send a medic nin on missions with you from now on" he chuckled slightly, recalling last night's events. I smirked at his statement despite being slightly annoyed about it, though my injuries aren't too serious.

"Just make sure to get those tended to after coming here" He said, his eyes looking over my body for any serious injuries, though the worst injury on my back wasn't visible to him.

"Okay, I will give you the report first. I took out the gang members as asked, a few were rogue ninjas. I disposed of the bodies as if they were from the leaf village, just in case they were. While assassinating Hiromasa Amari n one of the guards saw me or were alerted by my presence, leaving me to quickly finish the job" as soon as I had finished reporting I yawned slightly, obviously catching his attention.

"Understood, you are dismissed" he said, I gave a short nod and disappeared out of the room. After exiting the office I headed towards the hospital, keeping my promise with the hokage. It was around the time people were heading home from late night drinking. As I jumped from rooftop to rooftop I could see people stumbling home after having a bit too much to drink, the dull ache in my stomach reminding me I had to eat soon. _I'll tend to that once I've had these wounds healed._

 ** _Time Skip~_**

My chest plate armour laid on the ground, alongside my sword and mask. In my hands was my black shirt, leaving me only in my bra. My bare skin was exposed as Sakura worked on the wound that stretched across my middle back. She used her mystical palms technique to close over the wound, I had lost quite a bit of blood due to it. Her Chakra intertwined with my flesh as my wound began to close over, the gash almost seemed numb as she healed it.

I sat on the soft hospital bed in a room designed for a single patient, baby blue walls with a large window accompanied by white curtains. The room seemed very clinical with white tiles, and a smell that greeted me often, which was caused from the chemicals used to clean the medical equipment. The whole room was spotless, it almost seemed eerie. A few paintings of flowers were hung upon the wall, giving some colour to the plain room.

"How'd you get a nasty wound like this?" She questioned, curious as how to I got such a large gash on my back. As long as I didn't give her the details of the mission it should be fine to tell her. She had pressed towels against my back to apply pressure to prevent the wound from bleeding so much, but now she was healing it with her chakra to save time.

"I-I let my guard down while fighting, and one of the enemies attacked me from behind" I explained, _I really have to work on my defense tactics._

"Ah, that's unfortunate Karasu. Hopefully on your next mission there'll be someone who will back you up if that were to happen again" she said with sincerity interwoven in her words, Kakashi said he was going to send me on a mission with some comrades next time. _I wonder who they will be._

"Yes, that would be helpful" I responded to her kind statement, a small smile crossed my features. I shivered slightly as the cold room made the hair on my arms stand on end, _I can't wait to get home._

"Almost finished with this. . ." She mumbled as she continued to use chakra to heal my wound. I sighed gratefully as she said those words, I was hoping to get home and have something to eat. My thoughts soon turned to the mission I had completed, _how long has it been since I've been on a mission other than assassination or having to fight enemies as the main objective?_

"I've finished so you can put your shirt on again, sorry but there's going to be a slight scar left over from it." She said moving her hands away from my body. I quickly slipped my shirt on and savoured it's warmth. It didn't worry me, it would blend into the countless others.

"Thank you" I said, appreciating her healing my wounds greatly. Without her I would have had to take a break for a couple of days while my injury healed. I already had a day off yesterday and didn't want to have another one off. The gash on my arm throbbed slightly but I ignored the pain as I got off of the bed and began to put my armour back on.

"Anytime Karasu. Oh, I have to ask you something" Sakura responded as she collected the bloody towels and wrapped them up neatly to be disposed of. She walked over to the bin on the far side of the room and threw them in, her heels clicking against the ground.

"What is it?" I inquired, as I heard her washing her hands. I put my mask on and adjusted it over my face. I could hear water hitting the bottom of the basin, it reminded me of the times I had to wash blood off my hands. Another sound entered my ears, rapid footsteps approaching the room we were in. A man burst through the door, his white uniform was similar to Sakuras. His dark eyes scanned the room before landing on Sakura, _luckily I put on my shirt and mask._

"Miss, sorry to interrupt, but we have a patient who is in dire need of medical help" He said, begging her to come and help with the situation. He had sweat on his brow, his face twisted into an expression of anguish.

"Sorry I have to go, but I'll talk to you soon" she said running out of the room with the medic, I sighed tiredly as my shoulders slumped. Their rapid footsteps becoming fainter as they ran further down the hall. She seemed to always be busy with something, I don't know how shes able to keep up with it all.

 ** _Time skip~_**

I flopped onto my bed with a frustrated groan, I felt numb apart from the dull ache residing in my chest. I felt as though there was a permanent shard embedded in my gut, making it twist and turn. I snuggled deeper into my over-sized hoodie as I tried to ignore the unsettling feeling in my stomach, partly brought on from hunger. I glanced at my alarm beside the bed "2:47".

 _I'll eat in the morning._

I awoke to the sound of bacon sizzling on the stove, a mouthwatering scent wafted into my nose. I licked my lips as my mouth began to fill with saliva, _that smells good._ I suddenly shot upright, _who was cooking the bacon?_

My bedroom door slammed against the wall as I flung it open, not caring about the damage it would incur. My head swung around wildly to look into the kitchen, I groaned loudly when I looked at the scene in front of me.

The hokage, at 7:00 in the morning, was cooking me breakfast, for a reason that does not exist. I walked across the cold, wooden floorboards as the smell of bacon became stronger. I sighed in frustration, _I should have been awake by now. And where the hell was the bacon from? I only had a few things in the fridge._

"Why are you in my house?" I said as I walked over to the silver haired man that had appeared in my kitchen. I groaned as my annoyance grew .

"Sakura wanted me to ask you something when you got to work" he stated simply, her was wearing his usual attire. I felt annoyed with the answer, it still didn't tell me why he was here. I leant against the white counter top, strands of my raven hair falling around my face.

"That doesn't explain why you're in my house, cooking breakfast" I said ready to kick him out, _why was he going out of his way for me? I don't understand._

"Sakura told me to remind you to eat something, so I thought I would cook breakfast" he said sweetly, giving me a closed eye smile. _Why? Why was he caring so much now? When years before he would only talk to my sister._

"You didn't really have to do that" I crossed my arms agitated, frowning slightly, I looked to my side, averting my eyes from him. I wanted to refuse the breakfast, but my mouth began to salivate.

"I thought I might as well, since you did help find Hametsu and have been doing well on missions" he said looking down at the cooking food, his gaze softened, "and you obviously can't look after yourself" he ended. I huffed angrily as he finished the sentence.

"I can look after myself just fine" I retorted, "anyways what does Sakura want?" I said, wanting him to get out of the house as soon as possible. He chuckled lightly, only aggravating me more, _why was he the only one that could get under my skin?_

"Whatever you say, but she wanted us all to get together for Temari's birthday this weekend, she apologizes for the late notice" _Crap, I forgot that was coming up, I guess that means Kakashi's is next. What am I going to buy her?_

"Yeah sure, where is it?" I questioned, still trying to think of a gift to give her. I racked my brain, trying to think what to get, _a Kanzashi? Chocolate? Jewelry?_

"It's this Saturday 6:30, at the Hasama restaurant" he informed him, before serving my bacon and eggs onto bread placed on a plate beside the stove. My mouth began watering but I was determined not to show it, _why was there only one plate? Wasn't he eating?_

"Sounds good, but why aren't you eating?" I mumbled, he passed me the plate of the mouth-watering bacon, eggs and toast. I hesitantly took it, I held it awkwardly while standing there.

"I'm going to head back to the office, I'll see you tonight for training" he said, I opened my mouth to reject, and ask why he didn't respond to my question. And why I was getting another day off. But he placed a hand on my head, ruffling my hair he gave a smile beneath his mask and headed out the door. Leaving me alone in my house, with my face beet-red. _Why am I reacting like this?_

Kakashi POV~

I walked down the steps of her apartment complex, my feet clanging against the metal stairs. _Sakura didn't say she needed to eat to me, but she didn't need to know that. All Sakura wanted me to do was to tell her about Saturday._ Excitement bubbled in my chest as I thought about training with Karasu tonight, _I'll just pick her up after work. I did promise to take good care of her. . ._ I continued to walk down the road of the now busying streets, caught in my own thoughts.

 **Sorry for the crappy chapter, and taking so long to update. I hope you enjoy it anyways :)**


	9. Chapter 8

Karasu POV~

A knock sounded at my door shortly after I had finished dinner, I groaned as I already knew who it was. I shuffled over to the other side of the room and opened the door to see the hokage standing there. He was in his usual black armour, only without the hokage gear, and his silver hair glinting in the pale evening light. My attire consisted of my black ANBU pants, a light grey zipper hoodie, my mesh t-shirt and knee high sandals. I brushed my dark, loose hair quickly out of my face and looked up to meet his coal eyes, seeing as I was only up to his chest.

"Ready to go?" he questioned, I relaxed slightly at the sound of his voice.

"Yup" I replied casually, trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. I walked out of my apartment and locked the door behind me. He waited patiently as I did this, we then started to descend the metal stairs down to the street. Meanwhile I glanced at his weapon satchel which contained his Icha Icha paradise book. A small smile of amusement crept onto my face as I saw this, completely forgetting my ANBU mask wasn't on.

"Hmm, whats little Karasu smiling about?" he lightly chuckled, his dark eyes watching my face. I pursed my lips into a thin line, and erased any trace of the smile from my face.

"Nothing" I replied, rather blandly now looking away. The walk down to the street was quiet after that, the only noise was of our sandals hitting the ground. The evening sky was beginning to dim to the point where the sun was no longer visible. Everything was dark, with only a weak blue light emitting from the last of the suns rays. Luckily, the streetlights gave off a warm glow, allowing us to weave throughout the crowd bustling on the street. The silence between us was comfortable, it seemed as if both of us were in the mood to not talk. It wasn't tense or awkward, it just felt, nice.

We soon arrived at the training grounds, though, by that time the sky was drained of all darkness and only a sliver of the moon remained. Stars clustered together, creating white speckles across the dark sky. I sighed, knowing it was a good night for training, the wind was minimal, and it was a comfortable warm temperature.

"Any jutsu's you want to practice?" I heard Kakashi ask from behind me, I already knew what I needed to work on at this point in time.

"I need to work on my defense, so is it alright if we do that?" I asked, already knowing that I was going to use the eight trigrams palms revolving heaven technique. I pushed back my loose hair again, before reaching for the hairband around my wrist. Pushing my hair up I began to tie a ponytail.

"Sure, lets do that then" He replied politely, _why does he want to even train with me?_ We walked into a clearing within the training area. The tall trees were black silhouettes against the night sky, the ground had become so eroded that there was no longer grass, only dirt. I inhaled, allowing the crisp, fresh air into my lungs, relaxing me a little before the exercise. Kakashi disappeared off into the trees, likely to be prepping some attacks to throw at me. Exhaling I cracked my knuckles and stood still. Quickly I began to release chakra from each one of my Tenketsu's, I then began to spin rapidly, allowing a sphere of chakra to surround my body, protecting me from every object that would be thrown at me. My feet moved quickly against the ground, sending dust spiraling into the air, as I began to focus my chakra directly on the points at which the attacks were being sent at me. I breathed heavily, _this is going to be one hell of a training session._

Time skip~

I breathed heavily as I continued to dodge the attacks Kakashi was sending towards me, sweat rolled down my forehead. I deflected an array of weapon, using a kunai as a shield of some sort. My eight trigrams palm revolving technique had worked well, but I had to practice other techniques of defence. The silver haired jonin was moving quickly, and seemed to jump from place to place in an instant. By from his slowing moves I could tell he was getting tired as well. _We should probably end the training session before it gets too late._ It seemed as though Kakashi could read my mind as the attacks suddenly stopped a few minutes later, and he appeared beside me. Looking as hot and bothered as I was, as he pushed his soft silver hair up I couldn't help but stare at his scar once again.

"You've got some good defense techniques" He complemented me, making me display a small smile. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and hoped that I would stop sweating soon. And hat the red on my cheeks caused by blushing, would appear as being hot from training.

"Thanks, though I still need to improve" I replied, thinking about the few attacks that did end up hitting me. I pushed strands of my hair back as he began to chuckle slightly. Bringing the mask covering his face to my attention, _will I ever get to see behind it?_ I began to imagine what he looked like beneath the layer of fabric covering his face.

"I guess that means more training together" he said with a close eyed smile, making my stomach churn with nerves. Pink dusted my cheeks as I looked down at the ground, unable to face him.

"Yeah, that will be good" I mumbled back, too nervous to look up again. I felt a gentle weight against my hair, I looked to see his hand on top of my head. He gave it a quick ruffle with an expression I couldn't read. He took it away before I could bat it off my head with embarrassment.

Kakashi POV~

 _If anything happens, promise me you will take care of Karasu_

I kept glancing at her as we reached the edge of town, the words that her sister said to me repeating in my head. I was staring at her for longer than I intended, as she suddenly looked up to meet my eyes. Though I doubt I would admit it to her, I loved the colour of her irises, deep blue fading into a pale aqua, reminding me of the ocean. I could feel myself drowning in her questioning gaze as we walked, she opened her mouth to say something, but not before a cold, metal pole hit me on the forehead. The force sending my head backwards. I groaned as I held my forehead, in attempt to make the pain go away. I closed my eyes, only to be greeted by the sound of soft snorting. I opened my eyes to see Karasu trying to hold in her laughter as I rubbed my face. The pain seemed to instantly drain away as I watched her laughter break out of her mouth allowing me to hear the sweet sound. She held her hand in front of her mouth, as if to block the sound from exiting, her blue eyes twinkled as she continued to laugh. A sound I hadn't heard in so long, seemed so unfamiliar to me.

"A-are you okay?" she said trying to speak through her fit of giggles, I removed the hand from my face and watched the scene unfold. A goofy grin spreading across my face.

"I think a kiss would make it better" I said putting on the most blank face I could muster, trying to receive any reaction from her.

"Don't be stupid pervert" she giggled, her voice sending butterflies flying in my stomach as her laughter slowly began to die down. I assume she was referring to my Icha Icha Paradise books, _I hope she never ends up reading them._ She pushed me playfully, pretending to be annoyed with my statement, although I could see her face already going red. She continued to walk along rather quickly, probably to avoid being seen embarrassed, I walked slightly faster to catch up with her. The rest of the walk we continued in silence, a grin plastered across my face, though it was hidden by my mask. Luckily the streets were bare, only the streetlights and lanterns hanging above giving off a mixture of blue and orange light. It was quiet, but not to the point where it was silent. At times there were yells and chatter coming from a pub or restaurant which was still open, or a stray cat scurried away as we walked by.

We finally arrived at her door, she reached into her pockets and pulled out the keys to enter the house. They jingled loudly as she unlocked the door, but instead of entering she turned around to face me, giving a slight smile.

"Thank you for training with me, it's been a while since any one has done that" she said grateful of my time spent with her. She had taken out her hair once again, allowing the dark hair to fall down to the mid-way of her back.

"It's fine, just tell me when you want to do it again" I replied, hoping the next time would be soon, seeing as how I enjoyed spending time with her. She nodded eagerly in response, before looking down at the ground, in the shadows I could barely make out the blush on her cheeks.

"Could you p-possibly bend d-down?" She mumbled quietly, fidgeting with her hands. I was slightly confused as to why, but bent down slightly so I was barely taller than her. Gently with her hands, she cupped the sides of my head, standing up straighter she moved towards me. Her face moved closer to mine, before she pressed her soft lips against my forehead, in the same place where I had hit the metal bar. I turned red on the face, though unlike Karasu I had mask to cover my embarrassment. Her embarrassed face was deep red as she pulled away, allowing me to straighten up my posture. My chest panged, though it was more fuzzy, nervousness rather than hurt. My chest felt as if it was going to explode as an instinctive smile was brought to my face as I watched her fidget once again.

"G-goodnight" she muttered before quickly dashing into her house, I was shocked at her actions, though I didn't mind them.

Karasu POV~

 _A warmth encased my body,_

 _The sweet scent I had gotten so used in my childhood years took over my senses,_

 _I snuggled deeper into the dark fabric of Unmei's clothing,_

 _I could hear her humming a song as her arms wrapped around my smaller body,_

 _It slowly began to fade away as the scent and tune disappeared,_

I groaned as I covered my eyes to shield them from the early morning sun. _I need to visit her and Gisei soon, it's been too long._ As I began to wake up, I remembered what I had done the previous night and sobbed quietly, _why did I do that to Kakashi? Now I have to face him, damn idiot!_ I groaned louder and rolled out of bed, practically falling onto the floor. Slowly picking myself up, I began to get changed into my ANBU uniform. Dreading my conversation with the Hokage the whole time. _Was it too forward, I mean its just a kiss to the forehead_. Walking out to the kitchen, I placed my sword on my back, and took an apple from the fruit bowl. Putting my mask on the bench, I quickly ate the apple taking large bites out of it. _I mean he did kinda ask for it._ Putting the mask back on, I threw the core into the bin with a thud, and left out the front door. Once I had locked the door, I clambered onto the roof and began to head off to the hokages office. As it was beginning to come into Autumn and summer ending **(Sorry the weather in earlier chapters doesn't match up with seasons)** , the trees leaves were beginning to turn into pale orange. The nights and mornings were beginning to cool down, and Christmas was moving closer. I jumped from building to building, heading towards the office. My long hair trailing behind me in the wind as it rushed past me. Barely anyone was setting up stalls, as it was still too early in the morning, though there was an occasional few eager to start the day.

I appeared in the Hokages office to see Kakashi still sorting through paperwork. He looked lively, and not a tired as other day which was a good sign. Though, my face burned with embarrassment about the actions I took last night, _I was so stupid. He probably hates me now, or thinks i'm a freak._

"Morning Karasu" He said aloof as he continued his paperwork, glancing upwards with a closed eye smile.

"Good morning Kaka-Hokage" I corected myself, wanting to be formal, only making Kakashi chuckle slightly. He stopped writing and focused his attention on me. As soon as he did I felt two presences beside me, _my comrades for today._ I didn't turn around and completely focused on Kakashi.

"Today you have been tasked with finding and questioning Hametsu Kazoku, as a relative that he has made recent contact with is thought to be trying to infiltrate the village. Hametsu seems to know the location of his family members, so by questioning him we will be able to find the man, Hebi Kazoku. Today your squad is only going as far as questioning, another squad will take on the job of tracking Hebi down" Kakashi said, giving us a clear clarification of the mission, _so I will be seeing Hametsu again huh?_

"Tetsuhato will be leading this mission" Kakashi added, a smile spread across my lips as I tried to look sideways slightly to see Tetsuhato's tall frame standing to my right. Someone I knew was on the mission which I was grateful for, though I didn't know the other person.

"Yes sir" I heard Testuhato say from behind me, in his usually calm voice.

"You are dismissed, Karasu stay behind momentarily" I was confused as to why, but that didn't stop me from dreading the following conversation. _Is it about last night?_ I felt a strong urge to disobey orders and leave instead.

"We will meet you at the village gates" I could hear Tetsuhato say to me as my two comrades disappeared, I nodded in response.

"What do you want Hokage?" I said slightly annoyed I would have to stay. Though it was mostly to cover my nervousness and embarrassment. _At least I have my ANBU mask on my face to cover my blushing face._

"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to train again with me tonight?" Kakashi explained, I let out a quiet sigh of relief as it wasn't about last night, and he still wanted to go out. A _t least he's not talking about the kiss to the forehead. But I was planning to buy Temaris present tonight, and visit Gisei and Unmei, but I don't want to decline._

"I was planning on buying a present for Temari tonight, maybe you could join me for that instead" I mumbled, my face turning a shade of pink, slightly embarrassed for asking the Hokage to join me shopping. _I mean he did invite me to training, so this isn't too different right? Keep it together Karasu._

"Okay, I will meet you at your house then" He said with a closed eye smile, making me sigh in relief. Though my heart was still pounding in my ears, and my chest felt as if it could explode at any given minute. _I'm glad he accepted the offer._

"I will see you tonight" I began to say, as Kakashi ruffled his hair once again, though I was more focused on the scar on his eye. _I know some things that my sister told me, though, I wanted to hear it from him._

"One more thing, I accidentally bit my lip this morning, could you kis-" he began, half chuckling while teasing me, "Goodbye Kakashi" I half yelled before disappearing out of the office as quickly as possible. My face was burning up as I headed towards the village gates. I tried to push away the embarrassing thoughts filling my head as the village gates came into view.

I landed beside Tetsuhato and a woman with short black hair, after noticing my presence we headed off, in search of Hametsu. It took us a good hour of searching until we found him training in an isolated part of the forest in the training area. As we approached him, I observed his trining style and jutsu's. He was using a strange jutsu to cover his body in fire, allowing him to easily burn the area surrounding him. Curious, I used my byakugan to see if the fire was created by his own chakra, but I was surprised to find that the chakra was entwined with the flames but not causing them, they were emitted and formed from his body _. It must be a special technique from his clan_. Deactivating my byakugan we landed beside the boy with a thud, as soon as he sensed our presence he deactivated the flames that surrounded his body. As they distinguished, I looked at the surroundings, most of the trees were charred, and the rocks had large burn marks covering them, most had been reduced to rubble. _That jutsu's powerful, and he uses it with ease._ Looking uneasy, he simply glared at us. His eyes flickered with recognition as they scanned over me, his stare only hardened, instead of lashing out like I thought he would.

"Hametsu Kazoku, you are being taken custody by the ANBU black ops over questioning of Hebi Kazoku"

Time Skip~

We were in a dark room with characters spread out across the floor, flowing from the centre of the room in a circular pattern. The walls were dark green, and candles barely lit the area making it hard to see. Hamestsu stared at the three of us with his dull orange eyes, demanding for an answer. I looked away from his hardened gaze, feeling a shiver of uneasiness run down my spine.

"I told you, I have no connections to my older brother" Hametsu growled deeply, obviously enraged about the whole situation. After a few more questions that were met with angry and useless answers, I could only sigh when I watched Tetsuhato perform a jutsu on Hametsu to allow him to relive the memories of receiving information about Hebi's location and plans. Our squad learnt that he was residing just outside of the Hidden Leaf village, which allowed Hametsu to easily battle him, causing his disappearance in order to fight his sibling. Though he does not know what Hebi intends to do to the leaf village. _At least the knowledge of his whereabouts is in our possession_. After releasing him and updating the Hokage, I headed back to the ANBU locker rooms. I hadn't been there recently, but I wanted to change out of my gear before I got home, seeing as I always kept a spare change of clothes in my locker. Once showered and changed I headed to my locker to put my dirty clothing in a backpack to take home and wash. As I was locking my locker I remembered I had to go out shopping with Kakashi tongiht, _almost forgot_. I locked my locker and began to walk to the entrance, eager to get home.

I plopped onto the couch exhausted, glad that the day was almost over, _just one more thing to do._

 ** _Sorry for taking so long to update I just haven't been feeling the best, but I'm hoping to update more regularly, hope you have enjoyed the chapter ;P_**


	10. Chapter 9

**Sorry I have taken so long to upload, even though I said I would upload more frequently. I've been away without proper internet connection, even though it's been a while I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

 **Thanks~**

 _Karasu POV~_

The night was yet again warm, allowing me to wear looser clothing. I was now wearing my washed out denim shorts, an unzipped, lightweight, black parka with my families crest on the back, underneath it was a thin, light grey shirt. I sighed and laid down on the couch, waiting for Kakashi to come over. I had already eaten miso soup for dinner, ever since Kakashi had come over and cooked breakfast, I had been eating properly to avoid it happening again. Though, he still wanted to hang out with me, I wasn't upset, just surprised. Though I continuously raise the question as of why he was doing this, it was odd considering he used to spar with my sister, _was I a replacement?_ He barely talked to me at that time,though he didn't really talk that much around my sister either. Though there was a few instances where we did exchange conversations, and those times were pleasant. But I couldn't help feeling like I was taking my sisters place.

A knock sounded at my door, disrupting my thoughts. _I shouldn't be thinking things like that._ I quickly got up and walked over to the door, glad to do the last few things for the day. I was met by Kakashi's friendly closed-eye smile, locking the door we headed down to the street.

Time skip~

I stared through the glass windows racking my brain as to what to get, I mumbled incoherently as I tried to figure out what would be a nice gift. In front of me was rows upon rows of necklaces and rings, that sparkled brightly under the stores artificial light.

"Karasu are you alright?" I could hear my shopping companion say from behind me, obviously concerned about my state of thinking. I turned my attention back to Kakashi who wore a blank expression despite sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just having trouble choosing what to get for Temari" I replied absolutely dumbfounded on what to choose. He scratched the back of his head as I said this.

"Hmm, maybe looking around more will give you a better idea of what you want to get" he said while glancing up the street, probably trying to look at all the other items available. The streets were bustling, with people chattering away in the background. A river of colours filled the streets, as the last of the suns rays disappeared over the horizon the hazy streetlights began to turn on. I sighed and began heading down the street again with Kakashi coming into step with me, I've always had trouble giving gifts to people. We passed a few shops before entering a different jewellery store.

"Anything you plan on buying here?" I could hear Kakashi saying from behind me, as he looked at a display of earrings intently. _Is he buying them for Temari?_

"Yeah, probably" I turned my attention to the display of tama kanzashis, the hairpins were laid out on shiny black velvet. After a while, I decided on a delicately crafted kanzashi with multiple purple, glass flowers. They had flecks of white throughout the petals, and small, golden crystals as the centre. Transparent leaves hung off the hair clip, and were shaped as leaves. I quickly purchased it, and took the brown, paper bag it was placed in off the counter. Kakashi and I walked out of the shop, and back into the bustling streets.

"Where do you want to go next?" I heard Kakashi say from beside me, I pondered slightly before coming to a decision.

"To the sake store" I said, figuring I would give Temari a bottle to share. Kakashi nodded as we began to head off. The sky was now a murky blue, with barely any light, unfortunately the sky was covered with clouds not allowing the stars to be seen. I huffed as we reached the empty sake store, _what am I going to get now?_ We walked in and were instantly greeted with the smell of alcohol, _maybe we shouldn't have come here_. We walked around the racks of alcohol, I was focused on getting sake only. I finally found the bottles in the cramped, cold shop. I looked through the labels, but ended up picking the type with a small amount of distilled alcohol. From what I had heard, it was nice, I hadn't tried it due to my inability to handle liquor well. I bought it as well, adding another bag in my right hand to carry. As we walked out of the shop I sighed, _I still have extra money... What else can I buy?_

"Anywhere else you want to go?" I heard Kakashi say from my side yet again as I watched the sea of people flow past us. _I will probably pick something up later._

"Not particularly, what about you?" I asked back as we began walking, no destination pinpointed. I glanced upwards at him, he was looking ahead, though after a few seconds he looked down to me and met my gaze. I snapped my head forwards as I began to get flustered at meeting his gaze.

"No, I'm fine" he replied simply, our footsteps pounded against the worn, dirt road. The amount of people in the streets had diminished slightly, but the talking was still loud.

"Have you already brought the gifts?" I asked as we walked, swinging the shopping bags in my hand back and forth gently. I looked down and watched my feet walk along the road intently, too embarrassed to look up at his face again.

"Yeah, I got her a few things" He replied, not allowing me to know what they were. I hummed in response to him. We walked silently down the streets in a comfortable silence, content with no talking between us. We had soon ended up outside the training area, since we were further away from the villages lights, the stars were more visible. Allowing us to see the patterns that were scattered delicately across the inky sky. It was quiet, as the now cool air, blew past us, I inhaled deeply trying to get rid of the nauseous feeling in my stomach. It still remained no matter how hard I tried to calm myself, I just couldn't help but feel jittery.

"It's nice out here" I choked out, ruining the silence. I mentally cursed at myself for saying something.

"It is" I heard Kakashi respond from behind me, the bags rustled quietly as I adjusted my stance as we stood, looking upwards. His response had made me feel a little less embarrassed. We were walking slowly for a while until Kakashi came to a stop, confused I stopped walkig and turned to face him.

"Karasu, are you worried about Hametsu?" He asked quietly, my heart twinged as he said this. His face was showing slight worry as he looked to the side.

"Yes, I'm worried about what he will do" I mumbled, a frown overtaking my face. _I didn't want him to suffer because of his families selfish mistakes._ A weight placed on my head distracted me from my thoughts.

"I'll make sure nothing will happen to him" he said in a soft tone, as he ruffled my hair slightly. I appreciated the kind gesture, looking up I gave him a kind smile in return.

Time Skip~

Kakashi and I had split ways, allowing me to visit Gisei and Unmei briefly, I stood in front the village memorial stone, watchin it weakly glint beneath the skies dull light . A sad smile took over my senses, as I looked at the names of Gisei and Unmei embedded into the stone. A new bouquet of flowers laid peacefully in front of the stone, honouring those that fought and lost their lives. _I have to bring flowers next time._

"Hey Unmei and Gisei, sorry for not coming and visiting you as often as I should, I've been selfish in not doing so. I've been promoted in the ANBU to take orders directly from the hokage, it's mostly been assassinating people so far, but I'm happy with that, though I did interrogate a genin who has been involved in recent events, I was in a group then. I've been out with Kakashi a few times, he hasn't really changed since we were kids Unmei..." I rambled on as I let out all my feelings and thoughts I had built up from the past month, I knew they couldn't respond, but, I didn't feel as lonely. After a while of talking I was getting tired, and decided it was best to come back another day, seeing as I had to go on a mission tomorrow. Yawning I headed towards my house, hoping tomorrow wouldn't be too exhausting.

Time Skip~

I nervously approached the Hasama restaurant, I was wearing a high-necked, black dress that came just above my knees. The black material hugged my figure until just above my hips, becoming looser below that point, allowing it to flow freely. I had done my hair in a tight, braided bun to keep it out of my face. My black flats quietly hit the ground as I arrived at the door of the restaurant. I pushed the door forwards and entered a warmly lit restaurant, the wooden tables complimented the padded chairs beside them. The white walls were decorated by numerous artworks. A bar was placed on the right side of the room, with many glasses stacked upon one another. I could see a few people already standing around drinking, there was a small table with a pile of wrapped gifts on it. Everyone was dressed quite formally, either in dresses or suits. I nervously held my gift and headed towards the pile, weaving through a few people. I placed it down and sighed gratefully, I had bought a box of chocolates containing roasted chestnuts this morning to go with the other items. _I hope she likes it..._

"Hey Karasu, good to see you" I heard a voice a say behind me, I turned around swiftly to see Naruto and TenTen standing beside the bar. Temari was wearing a white dress with a light pink, floral pattern dress that went to her knees, while Naruto was wearing a black suit and tie,with a white shirt beneath. I walked over and joined the conversation, I looked around at the people arriving. Temari still hadn't arrived as many people flocked in, some I knew and some I didn't. Despite this I couldn't help but think, _where's Kakashi?_ Hinata soon joined us as she had grabbed a drink for herself and Naruto. She was wearing a light purple lace dress that complimented her eyes. I smiled gently at the cute couple. Tenten gave a slight giggle alongside me, before the conversation continued. It was around twenty minutes later when I noticed a certain silver-haired ninja arriving, minutes before Temari was supposed to. _Back to his old ways of being late,_ I gave a weak smile.To my disappointment he headed over to Sasuke and Sai, after dropping his gifts off at the table, I shook my head and turned back to the conversation I was continued for a while, until a faint voice could be heard outside the restaurant.

"Seriously Shikamaru, it's just my Birthday I don't need to go to a restaurant" I could hear a voice saying as the restaurant door opened. Shikamaru entered the venue as Temari followed close behind. I let out a giggle as everyone prepared to yell at her.

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone chorused as Temari's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, obviously surprised at everyone being at the restaurant. Her black dress that reached to her ankles had a slit up the right side, and a red sash around the waist. Her blonde hair was now let loose. Shikamaru was also wearing a suit, which was grey in colour and had a white shirt beneath, his hair was in a ponytail as always. Everyone went over to wish her a happy birthday, I joined in with the crowd and walked over to her.

"Happy Birthday Temari" I said smiling at her, she gave a large grin back before thanking me and turning to respond to another birthday wish.

Time skip~

It was getting later into the night as I continued to talk with Sakura and Ino, I tentatively held a drink in my hand. I was sipping it slowly, trying not to get to a point where I was feeling nauseous. I lost sight of kakashi, and was pulled into this conversation before I could find him.

"How was your last shift at the hospital?" Ino questioned Sakura as I took another sip of the drink in my hand. She immediately deflated as Ino and I looked at her with sympathy.

"It's been tiring but its not as bad as it could be" She said to us, being optimistic about the tiring schedule that she had at the hospital. Ino and I nodded in response, sympathtic about her stressful hours.

"Anyways how have you been Karasu? Kakashi hasn't been pushing you too hard, has he?Actually where is he. . ." She trailed off trying to look around for the silver haired ninja, before returning her gaze back to me, obviously failing to find him.

"I've been on a mission almost everyday, but he's let me have time off, so that's okay" I replied, relieved that my days weren't as stressful as Sakuras, even though I felt bad for her. _And we've been hanging out together as well. . ._

"That's good to hear, how about you Ino, have you been up to anything lately?" Sakura turned to Ino who was flattening out her dress, she looked up to meet Sakuras gaze. he pondered slightly before answering the question.

"I've been on a few missions but it's been pretty relaxed, I've been able to spend more time with Sai which I'm grateful for" She said with a soft smile taking over her mouth, as she gazed off into space thinking about her partner. Sakura and I giggled slightly, I covered my mouth as I did so. Though I was glad my friends were happy in their relationships, my chest ached.

"What about you Karasu, have you got anyone special at the moment?" Ino turned to me with a questioning face, a slight blush crept onto my cheeks as she said this, not expecting the question. All that would flash through my mind was memories of Tetsuhato and I walking together, as well as training and shopping with Kakashi.

"I-uh" I began to say before I heard a voice say my name, _oh no. . ._

"Karasu, how have you been?" I turned to see Tetsuhato beside me, I looked up to find him smiling at me. His brown hair falling in front of his soft eyes as he talked. _Seriously, right now?!_ My face was burning as I rapidly thought of what to say, _had he heard the question they had asked?_

"Hey Tetsuhato, I'm going good, how about you?"I asked politely, trying to be as calm as possible as Sakura and Ino gave me devilish looks from the side. Which didn't help with my embarrassment at all, _now of all times to come over._

"That's good to hear, I've been well. It's nice to see you too Sakura and Ino" He said before turning to my two friends, _he must know them from missions._

"Yes, it's been a while"

"Nice to see you again"

The conversation continued like nothing had happened, though Sakura and Ino kept glancing to me with amused eyes. I felt like rolling my eyes, but decided it wouldn't be the best course of action. Minutes faded away as we kept talking to one another, it was late into the night when I began to feel ill. At this point, I couldn't tell if it was the embarrassment of the situation, or the alcohol, but I wasn't feeling the best. My head was pounding slightly and I felt slightly nauseous.

"E-excuse me, I might go and sit down for a while" I said with a closed eye smile to the three of them, their faces turned from carefree to concerned as I said this. My head pounded as I stood there, obviously uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?" Tetsuhato immediately asked me gently, obviously concerned at my slightly pained expression. He placed a hand on my shoulder to reassure me, I nodded with a slight smile.

"If you need anything don't hesitate to tell us" Sakura said, as I thanked them gratefully before heading to the bar stools. Placing my glass of Sake on the bench I sat upon the stool and slumped slightly. _Had I drunk too much? I've only had a glass, usually I can tolerate two glasses before feeling sick. Obviously not tonight._

"Is there anything I can get you Miss?" the bartender asked politely, I gave her a small smile before requesting something. I tucked my hair behind my ear and straightened up slightly.

"Just a drink of water if that's possible" I said, she nodded before heading off to get a glass for me. I sighed in relief and relaxed slightly, trying to feel better but to no avail. _Maybe I should head home, after all it is getting late, and a few people have left already._

"Karasu, Are you feeling any better?" I heard a voice say from behind me, immediately I straightened up knowing who it was. I turned slightly to see Tetsuhato standing there, his face looked calm, but he was fidgety.

"I'm not too good at the moment, I-I think I've had too much to drink" I said weakly as he sat on the stool beside me. He gave me a soft smile , making my cheeks grow red as I was reminded of Ino's question.

"You're looking a bit red, maybe I can take you home... are you sure you don't have a fever?" He said gently before raising his hand to my forehead, my heart sounded like a drum in my ears as his fingers were centimetres away.

"Karasu, you don't look well, are you okay?" I heard a voice to my side, whipping my head around to look at the person who was talking. Tetsuhatos hand retracted carefully, balling into a fist as he looked at the person who interrupted his action.

"Uh, feeling a little ill, but I'm sure it's nothing" I said, waving my hand to disperse his uneasiness. His face calmed and he nodded, but his posture was still as rigid as before, he turned to Tetsuhato beside me.

"Nice to see you Tetsuhato" He said kindly, Tetsuhato's posture was relaxed as he looked at Kakashi with a soft expression.

"You too Hokage" He said with serious formality towards Kakashi, _I forgot that people didn't call him by his name._ I turned my head back to the bench as I heard the clink of a glass, I thanked the bartender and gratefully took a sip of the cool liquid.

"You want me to walk you home?" Kakashi said as I swallowed my drink, I was shocked at the offer but was glad he had asked. I placed the drink back down and was about to speak before I was cut off.

"I've offered to take her home already" Tetsuhato said with a hint of annoyance in his tone, his face remained calm as he glanced at Kakashi.

"That's kind of you, but she can walk home with me" Kakashi said with a closed eye smile, though, there was no warmth in his voice. My head was pounding as I listened to the tense conversation, my headache and nausea still not going away.

"I'm sure you have things to do, I'll escort her home" Tetsuhato said with a slight smile, even with his kind face it couldn't hide the cold, hard tone of voice he used. The aura coming from Tetsuhato was now becoming menacing as Kakashi glared at him. _What's going on?_

"I'd rather that I were to walk her home myself, if there is a problem you would like to address about me walking her home, then say it" Kakashi said equally as harsh back, His eyes were stone hard, my heartbeat raced as I looked into the eyes of someone that screamed danger. Hametsu glanced between Kakashi and I, his face softened and he suddenly stood up. He let out a sigh, obviously not wanting the conversation to go any further. Despite his relaxed face, his aura sent shivers down my spine as he gave off a soft smile. He had calmed himself down remarkably, but Kakashi still seemed on edge.

"I'll see you soon Karasu" Tetsuhato said politely before walking off into the crowd, I gave a small wave, before I turned to Kakashi who's posture had noticeably loosened with a pout on my face.

"What was that?" I mumbled, not impressed by their sudden change of attitudes, and mutual aggression. _Kakashi came and interrupted, though, Hametsu did cut me off and speak for me, usually they were kind, maybe it was the alcohol._

"Hmm, sorry I didn't hear that" Kakashi said with a soothed voice, compared to the harsh, cold tone he used before. I sighed at him ignoring me, now was obviously not the time to talk about it. _Its been a long time since I've heard him talk in that tone of voice..._

"Whatever, I'm not going home with you"I stated clearly, with no hint of doubt in my voice. Despite this my body language wasn't conveying the same message, as I slumped on my stool and my head hung low. My head was still pounding, luckily, the nausea had somewhat faded away.

"You are, unless, you're planning to pass out on the sidewalk" he replied, I only frowned harder at this. _I would not pass out due to the effects of alcohol., I was feeling crap, but I've been worse off._

"I can walk just fine" I said before drinking another sip of water, dulling the slight nausea. I placed the glass down and got off the bar stool, causing my head to pound harder. I winced slightly but regained my posture to make sure I looked okay.

"See.." I said as I rubbed my head with exhaustion, before leaning against the bar, _damn it_.

"Your body obviously doesn't agree with you" He said calmly, obviously amused by my determination. I rolled my eyes and rubbed my temples in a circular manner.

"Yeah, yeah" I mumbled back before stepping past him and walking towards Temari, she was talking to her brother, Kankuro as I approached. I could feel Kakahis presence behind me, which was annoyingly comforting. We stood side by side to wish Temari her a happy birthday before we left. She thanked us for coming before we headed out of the door of the restaurant and into the now cool air.


End file.
